Protecting Your Rights And Your Future

Does woman’s selfie mean that her boyfriend is guilty of murder?

| Oct 4, 2015 | Violent Crimes

Many people have posted selfies and other pictures on social media that they wish they had not put out there for their friends, let alone anyone else, to see. Unflattering social media pictures can cost people their jobs and their marriages, among other things. However, police in Arkansas discovered the selfie of a murder victim, and they claim the photo points to her boyfriend as the person who killed her.

The photo supposedly shows the accused man pointing a gun to the woman’s head. As it turns out, just hours after the picture was uploaded to social media, her lifeless body was discovered in her apartment at around 7:35 p.m. on a recent Sunday. She had been shot in the head.

Police in Little Rock searched the woman’s social media accounts and her phone and discovered the photo. Officials claim that there were other incriminating photos of her boyfriend wielding a gun. Based at least in part on those photos, the man was arrested the following day on suspicion of murder in the first-degree. The Tuesday after the woman was found dead, her boyfriend appeared in court. He entered a plea of not guilty, and his bail was set at $1 million.

Admittedly, the photos do not paint a flattering picture, but that does not mean that he killed his girlfriend. Arkansas prosecutors will need more than the photographs to prove this man is guilty of murder. Since he has the right to the presumption of innocence, prosecutors bear the burden of proving to the court beyond a reasonable doubt that he was the perpetrator. Regardless, considering the gravity of the charges and the potential penalties involved, the accused man’s criminal defense team is undoubtedly reviewing the all of the evidence, including the photos, that officials say point to his guilt.

Source: pix11.com, “Woman posted selfie of boyfriend pointing gun at her, hours before being fatally shot: police“, Andrea Cavallier, Sept. 29, 2015

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