## Facts

- Alexander Sutton was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder under District of Columbia law and of carrying a dangerous weapon without a license; he received a life sentence and a concurrent one-year sentence.
- On March 13, 1967, eyewitnesses saw Sutton and Matilda Glass exit a car and briefly embrace; Sutton suddenly fired a shot, and Glass screamed and ran.
- Sutton chased Glass with a revolver; after Glass fell, Sutton grabbed her, turned her onto her back, and fired two or three shots at close range.
- The eyewitnesses ran to get help, heard another shot, and returned to find police at the scene; Glass had been struck by three bullets and died at or shortly after the shooting.
- Sutton was found nearby, wounded, with a revolver under his right hand containing five expended cartridges and one live round.
- Three handwritten notes were found near Glass’s body; a fourth note was found on Sutton’s person at the hospital.
- One note near the body referred to Sutton’s difficulties with “Matilda,” made an ominous reference to a future event, gave instructions for disposing of Sutton’s property, and listed names and addresses for Sutton’s wife and daughter.
- The note found on Sutton instructed the finder to contact Sutton’s mother, wife, and daughter at addresses matching those in the note found near the body.
- The government offered the writings to show premeditation and a contemplated murder-suicide; Sutton objected that authorship was not adequately shown.

## Issues

1. Whether the four writings were sufficiently authenticated to be admitted into evidence.
2. Whether the evidence, including the writings and eyewitness testimony, was sufficient to support a finding of premeditation and deliberation required for first-degree murder.

## Decision

- The court affirmed the convictions for first-degree murder and unlicensed carrying of a dangerous weapon.
- The court held the writings were properly admitted because circumstantial evidence sufficiently authenticated them as connected to Sutton.
- The court held the evidence permitted a rational jury to find premeditation and deliberation; the trial court properly denied the motion for judgment of acquittal.

## Legal Principles

- A writing may be authenticated through circumstantial evidence, including its interrelated contents and the circumstances of its discovery, without direct proof such as eyewitness handwriting identification.
- Consistency between documents (shared names, addresses, and subject matter), combined with physical proximity to the crime scene and connection to the accused (a “linking” document found on the accused), can support admission of writings as attributable to the accused.
- Premeditation and deliberation may be inferred from (i) bringing a loaded firearm and ammunition to the encounter, (ii) pursuit of the victim after an initial shot, and (iii) multiple close-range shots following a sequence of purposeful actions, along with contemporaneous writings indicating anticipation of lethal events.
- On sufficiency review, an appellate court asks whether the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the government, could support the verdict, not whether the appellate court would weigh the evidence the same way.

## Conclusion

The D.C. Circuit upheld Sutton’s convictions, concluding that the notes were adequately authenticated by their contents and discovery circumstances and that the eyewitness account, weapon evidence, and writings together supported a jury finding of premeditation and deliberation for first-degree murder.


United States v. Sutton, 426 F.2d 1202 (D.C. Cir. 1969)