State v. Bocharski

Phillip Alan Bocharski (defendant) lived at the same campground as 84-year-old Freeda Brown (the victim), whose body was found in her trailer with sixteen stab wounds to the head after having been dead for several days. Police suspected Bocharski had used his signature Kabar knife, which had gone missing months before the killing, though no murder weapon was ever recovered. At trial, the prosecution introduced several graphic photographs of Brown's body, including exhibits showing her body generally and exhibits showing her skull cut open during the autopsy. Bocharski was convicted of first-degree felony murder and first-degree burglary and sentenced to death; he appealed directly to the Arizona Supreme Court.