## Facts

- Jensen and his wife attended a dance where both drank alcohol; Val Gene Steele, also intoxicated, offered to drive Mrs. Jensen.
- Steele drove past Jensen to a park; Mrs. Jensen later reported Steele made an indecent proposal and attempted to force advances, then returned her to Jensen’s truck.
- The next morning Mrs. Jensen told Jensen about the incident.
- Later that day Jensen drank for hours with Sherill Crane at a bar and repeatedly announced he would seriously harm or kill Steele, including statements that he would “beat [Steele] to death” and “kill” him.
- Jensen and Crane planned to locate Steele and bring him to Jensen; Crane used Jensen’s truck to find Steele and induce him to come along.
- When Crane returned with Steele in the truck, Jensen attacked Steele through the window, repeatedly striking Steele’s head and face while Steele remained largely inside the vehicle trying to defend himself; witnesses heard Jensen express intent to kill during the assault.
- A bystander pulled Jensen away; Steele went home severely injured, became confused and delirious, and died about two hours later.
- Medical testimony linked Steele’s fatal injuries to the beating.

## Issues

1. Whether the evidence was sufficient for the jury to find the intent required for second-degree murder (intent to kill, to do great bodily harm, or to do an act naturally and probably causing death or great bodily harm).
2. Whether the evidence was sufficient for the jury to find that Jensen’s assault caused Steele’s death.

## Decision

- The Utah Supreme Court affirmed Jensen’s second-degree murder conviction.
- The court held substantial evidence supported the jury’s finding of the required intent, based on Jensen’s repeated threats, the plan to lure Steele, and the nature of the head-and-face beating.
- The court held substantial evidence supported causation, given the temporal proximity between the beating and death, the observed deterioration in Steele’s condition, and medical testimony consistent with death from the injuries inflicted.
- The court declined to reweigh evidence or resolve conflicts, treating those matters as for the jury.

## Legal Principles

- Second-degree murder requires proof that the defendant intended (a) to kill, (b) to do great bodily harm, or (c) to do an act naturally and probably causing death or great bodily harm.
- On sufficiency review, an appellate court does not reconcile conflicts in testimony or reweigh evidence; it affirms if substantial evidence supports submitting the case to the jury and the verdict.
- Intent may be inferred from the defendant’s statements, planning, and the manner and severity of the assault.
- Causation may be established by circumstantial and medical evidence from which the jury can reasonably infer the defendant’s acts were a substantial factor in the death, even if alternative explanations are suggested.

## Conclusion

The court affirmed the conviction because the record contained substantial evidence that Jensen acted with the intent required for second-degree murder and that his beating of Steele caused Steele’s death, leaving credibility disputes and competing inferences to the jury.


State v. Jensen, 120 Utah 531, 236 P.2d 445 (Utah 1951)