A jury found Dorian Frank O’Kelley guilty of two counts of malice murder in connection with the deaths of Susan Pittman and her thirteen-year-old daughter, Kimberly Pittman. The jury also found O’Kelley guilty of two counts each of burglary and of arson in the first degree, one count of cruelty to children, one count of possession of a controlled substance, and five counts of entering an automobile with intent to commit a theft. The jury recommended a death sentence for the murder of Susan Pittman based on the following statutory aggravating circumstances: the murder was committed while the defendant was engaged in the commission of a burglary; the murder was committed while the defendant was engaged in the commission of arson in the first degree; and the murder was outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible, or inhuman in that it involved torture and an aggravated battery to the victim and involved the depravity of mind of the defendant. OCGA § 17-10-30 b 2, 7. The jury also recommended a death sentence for Kimberly Pittman’s murder based on its finding of these same statutory aggravating circumstances and, in addition, a finding that her murder was committed while the defendant was engaged in the commission of another capital felony, namely, the murder of Susan Pittman. OCGA § 17-10-30 b 2, 7. The trial court entered judgments of conviction and sentences in accordance with the jury’s verdicts and recommendations. O’Kelley’s motion for new trial was denied, and he appeals. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the convictions in part and reverse in part with direction, and we affirm the death sentences. 1. The evidence presented at trial shows that, shortly before midnight on April 10, 2002, O’Kelley and his co-defendant, Darryl Stinski, were observed at a convenience store by two Chatham County police officers. The officers noticed the defendants because they were dressed in black clothing, they carried a black duffle bag that appeared empty, and Stinski had several facial and ear piercings. Shortly after O’Kelley and Stinski left the store, the officers responded to a burglar alarm at a residence within walking distance of the store and discovered a broken window there. The occupant of the residence, who was not home at the time, testified at trial that she returned to find that someone had apparently tried to kick in her back door and had broken a window and bent the curtain rod inside the home. O’Kelley admitted in his first statement to police that he and Stinski went to a residence in order to commit a theft therein on the night in question but fled after the alarm went off.
A few hours later, at approximately 5:30 a.m. on April 11, the same police officers were leaving the convenience store when they spotted a fire in the distance. Rushing to the scene, they found the Pittman residence engulfed in flames. This home was in close proximity to the residence which had been burglarized earlier. In the headlights of the police car, one of the officers again observed O’Kelley and Stinski, this time standing in a wooded area across the street from the burning house. However, they had disappeared by the time the officers exited the vehicle. Once the fire was extinguished, officials discovered the remains of the victims.
