## Facts

- Michael James Blair broke into the victim’s home, stole marijuana plants and household items, and attempted to rape and sexually abuse the victim.
- The victim was found dead the next day on the floor near her bed, with a bed sheet tied around one leg and loosely tied to a bedpost.
- Medical evidence identified the cause of death as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) due to emphysema, with acute COPD critically exacerbated by Blair’s burglary and attempted sexual offenses.
- Blair was indicted for multiple crimes, including felony murder under ORS 163.115(1)(b).
- Blair demurred to the felony-murder count, arguing the indictment was defective for not alleging a culpable mental state regarding the death.
- The trial court denied the demurrer and rejected Blair’s requested jury instructions that would have required proof he caused death knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence.
- A jury convicted Blair of felony murder and other offenses; the Court of Appeals affirmed.

## Issues

1. Whether ORS 163.115(1)(b) requires the state to allege and prove a culpable mental state as to causing the victim’s death, beyond the mens rea for the predicate felony.
2. Whether an indictment charging felony murder is insufficient if it omits an allegation of a culpable mental state regarding the death.
3. Whether a trial court must instruct the jury that felony murder requires proof the defendant caused death knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence.

## Decision

- The Oregon Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals and the circuit court.
- The court held ORS 163.115(1)(b) does not require alleging or proving a separate culpable mental state as to the death.
- The court held the defendant’s commission or attempted commission of the enumerated predicate felony supplies the culpability for felony murder as a matter of law.
- The indictment was sufficient without alleging an additional mental state regarding the death.
- The trial court properly denied the demurrer and properly refused the requested jury instructions adding a mental-state element for the death.

## Legal Principles

- Under ORS 163.115(1)(b), felony murder is established by proof that the defendant committed or attempted an enumerated felony and, in the course of and in furtherance of that crime or immediate flight, a participant caused the death of a nonparticipant.
- The statute does not impose an additional element requiring proof the defendant acted intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence as to the result of death.
- An indictment that alleges the statutory elements of felony murder need not separately plead a culpable mental state for causing death to withstand a demurrer for failure to state an offense.
- Jury instructions may not add a culpable-mental-state requirement for the death when the felony-murder statute does not include that requirement.

## Conclusion

The Oregon Supreme Court upheld Blair’s felony-murder conviction, ruling that ORS 163.115(1)(b) requires no separate mens rea allegation or proof as to the death; participation in the predicate felony and causation of a death during the felony are sufficient.


State v. Blair, 228 P.3d 564 (Or. 2010)