JACOB LEE CHISUM v. STATE OF MARYLAND
Court of Special Appeals, Moylan, Feb. 25, 2016,
Attempted Murder – Intent to kill may be inferred from stabbing someone in the stomach, but it is not a required inference

Moylan holds forth for a bit on the difference in appellate review with regard to a judge vs a jury trial.

[T]he ultimate appellate review of the sufficiency of the evidence, if triggered, is precisely the same in a jury trial and in a bench trial alike.
In a jury trial, the required trigger is a motion for a judgment of acquittal… After a bench trial, appellate review of the legal sufficiency of the evidence is automatic and does not require a motion by the appellant.

Murder – Mens Rea- “First and foremost in the ranks of proof… is the permitted inference of an intent to kill from the directing of a deadly weapon at a vital part of the victim’s anatomy”

Attempted Murder – Mens Rea – A conviction for attempted second degree murder may not be sustained upon proof that the accused intended only to commit grievous bodily harm