Trejos v. State

Appellant, Frank Jose Trejos, appeals a judgment convicting him of the murder of Maria Barrientos, his mother-in-law. See Tex. Pen. Code Ann. § 19.02(b)(1) (Vernon 2003). Appellant pleaded not guilty to the jury. The jury found him guilty and assessed punishment at 45 years in prison. In seven issues, appellant contends that the trial court erred (1) by granting the States motion to shuffle the venire panel because the motion was untimely after voir dire had commenced, (2) by granting the States motion to amend the indictment to add the name of the complainant on the day of trial, (3) by admitting his statements that he made to police officers, (4) by admitting testimony concerning the findings of cadaver dogs because there was no showing of the reliability of the dogs or, alternatively, the probative value of the testimony was outweighed by its prejudicial effect or the danger of confusing the issues, and (5) by denying his motion for instructed verdict because "the State failed to prove corpus delicti." We conclude that the States motion to shuffle was timely because it was made before the State began its voir dire. We also conclude that the trial courts amendment of the indictment to add the name of the complainant on the day of trial was harmless error. Further, we conclude that the trial court did not err by admitting appellants statements to officers, by admitting the evidence regarding the cadaver dogs, or by denying appellants motion for instructed verdict. We therefore affirm.