In a unanimous decision, the Georgia Supreme Court has affirmed the murder conviction of an Augusta man who beat his 92-year-old mother to death.
In the opinion released Tuesday, Dec. 20, the Supreme Court found Robert Caviston, 64, was fairly tried and convicted by a Richmond County Superior Court jury in January 2018. He is serving a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
On Nov. 15, 2015, a passerby on Wicklow Drive saw a naked Caviston sitting in the middle of the street and a house on fire. He told her her had just killed his mother. Caviston also told Richmond County Sheriff deputies and a paramedic who responded to the scene that he had killed his mother by bashing her head in, the Supreme Court decision reads.
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According to medical evidence presented at Cavison’s trial, Agnes Caviston suffered skull fractures, a broken left arm, broken ribs, and a fractured sternum. She also had bruising indicating she had been strangled but the cause of death was due to blunt force trauma. The murder weapon was an IV stand. Agnes Caviston had been bed-ridden and was totally dependent on Caviston for care.
Caviston testified at his trial that his mother’s death was the result of a freak accident in which he repeated fell on her with the IV stand.
In his appeal, Caviston contended the prosecutor improperly brought before the jury the fact he had written a book called “The Philosophy of Murder.” The Supreme Court opinion noted the prosecutor only asked Caviston three questions about it on cross-examination. The book was not introduced as evidence. The justices didn’t find it to be an error that required a reversal of the conviction.
Sandy Hodson is a staff reporter covering courts for The Augusta Press. Reach her at sandy@theaugustapress.com.
