Cite as: 523 U. S. 538 (1998)
Opinion of the Court
Fleischli at a nearby liquor store and, not finding her, went home.
Tracy Leitch visited Thompson's apartment the morning of September 12, asking where Fleischli was. Lying, Thompson said she had left the Sandpiper Inn with Kashani the night before. At a party that evening, Tracy Leitch again asked Thompson where Fleischli was. In response, Thompson described Fleischli in the past tense, saying he had liked her. The next day, Tracy Leitch filed a missing person's report with the local police department.
On September 14, police found Fleischli's body buried in a field 10 miles from the apartment shared by Thompson and David Leitch. The body was wrapped in rope as well as a sleeping bag and blanket, both taken from the apartment. Fleischli's head was wrapped with duct tape, two towels, a sheet, and her jacket. She had been stabbed five times in the head near the right ear. The body was bruised on the ankles, palms, and left wrist; the right wrist was crushed. Fleischli's shirt and bra had been cut down the middle and pulled to her elbows, restraining her arms and exposing her breasts. She had on unbuttoned jeans, but no underwear, shoes, or socks. A vaginal swab revealed semen consistent with Thompson's blood type.
Police found two footprints near the body, one smooth and one with a wavy pattern matching a shoe worn by David Leitch. Fibers from the blanket around the body were identical to fibers found in the trunk of David Leitch's car. The rope around the body was smeared with paint from the car's trunk. Other fibers matched the carpet in the apartment, which was stained with Fleischli's blood.
On or around the day police found the body, Thompson and David Leitch went to Mexico. Leitch returned to the United States, but Mexican authorities arrested Thompson on September 26, 1981. He had handcuffs with him. When questioned by police after his return to the United States, Thompson claimed Fleischli had left his apartment with Ka-
543
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