COX v. STATE (2023)

ORDER

Following a jury trial in the Circuit Court of Buchanan County, Lewis Cox was convicted of one count of statutory sodomy in the first degree and one count of rape in the first degree. After this Court affirmed Cox's convictions on direct appeal, he filed a motion for post-conviction relief under Supreme Court Rule 29.15. The circuit court denied Cox's motion after an evidentiary hearing. Cox appeals. On appeal, Cox claims: (1) that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to elicit testimony from Cox that the police and the Victim had tampered with evidence; (2) that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to cross-examine a State expert concerning the lack of any physical evidence of a sexual assault on the Victim; and (3) that counsel was ineffective for failing to argue an adverse inference based on the State's failure to test an unidentified hair collected from the Victim's underwear. We affirm. Because a published opinion would have no precedential value, we have provided an unpublished memorandum to the parties setting forth the reasons for this order. Rule 84.16(b).

PER CURIAM: