Court rules on appeal of Benton County cornfield killer

The man convicted in the Benton County cornfield killings has lost his first appeal.

A jury convicted Francisco J. Resendez Miranda in 2015 of three counts of aggravated first-degree murder in the deaths of David Perez-Saucedo, Abigail Torres-Renteria and Victoria Torres.

In an October hearing, a lawyer for Resendez Miranda argued that his convictions be thrown out and he be given a new trial.

Tanesha La Trelle Canzater told state Court of Appeals judges that trial Judge Bruce Spanner abused his discretion by not granting a defense request that the jury be allowed to consider lesser charges, such as second-degree murder.

Second-degree murder does not require premeditation, while first-degree murder does.

Canzanter said considering second-degree murder was warranted because of the lack of evidence presented at trial that Resendez Miranda was involved in the killings or, if he was, knew the killings were going to be committed that night in August 2014.

The appellate court, in an 11-page ruling dated Dec. 21, affirmed the convictions.

Judge Rebecca L. Pennell, writing for the court, said Benton County Prosecutor Andy Miller and his team presented enough evidence to show that Resendez Miranda “played a significant role” and “was closely involved” in the three deaths.

The evidence “provided a strong basis for the jury to find Mr. Miranda liable as either a principal or an accomplice to all three murders,” Pennell wrote.

As an accomplice, Resendez Miranda still could be convicted of first-degree murder even if he did not pull the trigger.

As well, Pennell wrote that there were no facts to support that the murder was anything but premeditated.

Without those facts, Pennell wrote, second-degree murder could not be considered.

“A lesser included instruction is not warranted simply because the jury might disbelieve the State’s evidence,” Pennell wrote.

It is not yet known if Resendez Miranda will appeal to the state Supreme Court. He is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

This story was originally published December 21, 2017 at 3:34 PM with the headline "Court rules on appeal of Benton County cornfield killer."