State Missouri v. George Pullen

Appellant, George Pullen, appeals from his jury trial conviction of the offense of first degree murder, RSMo § 565.020, and his resulting sentence of life imprisonment without probation or parole. He also appeals the denial of his Rule 29.15 motion without an evidentiary hearing. We remand. The evidence presented at trial revealed that appellant's mother, Betty Pullen, lived with the victim, Ed Adams. Betty Pullen had four sons: the appellant, Bobby, Mark and Earl. The evidence was fairly clear that, although Betty Pullen's sons got along with Ed Adams on occasion, these occasions were rare. Indeed, the relationship between the victim and two of the Pullen boys - the appellant and Bobby - was filled with near constant fighting and death threats.