Schad v. Arizona

501 U.S. 624 (1991)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

The body of Lorimer Grove was discovered with a rope around her neck in Prescott, Arizona. She was 74 and had been strangled to death. Schad (D) was stopped for speeding in New York, almost four weeks later and told police that he was transporting the car for an elderly friend named Larry Grove. D was arrested a few weeks later in Utah for a parole violation and possession of a stolen vehicle. A search of the car revealed personal effects of Grove along with her wallet and credit cards. Other items belonging to Grove were found in an abandoned rental car that D had begun using six days before Grove's body had been discovered. D had rented the car the over 8 months before and never returned it. D denied being in Arizona. D was indicted for first-degree murder. D was sentenced to death, but that conviction was set aside. D was then retried and the prosecutor claimed premeditated murder and felony murder. D contended that the circumstantial evidence proved at most that he was a thief and not a murderer. The court instructed that first-degree murder was the result of premeditation and that it is also committed when murder is committed in the attempt to commit robbery. D requested instructions on the lesser included crime of theft. The court refused but did instruct on second-degree murder. D was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. This appeal resulted.