People v. Beach

• Decision Date: 29 January 1963
• Docket Number: Cr. 8356
• Citation: 28 Cal.Rptr. 62,212 Cal.App.2d 486
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Charlene Beatrice BEACH, Defendant and Appellant.

Page 62

28 Cal.Rptr. 62

212 Cal.App.2d 486

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Charlene Beatrice BEACH, Defendant and Appellant.

Cr. 8356.

District Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 4, California.

Jan. 29, 1963.

Rehearing Denied Feb. 18, 1963.

Hearing Denied March 27, 1963.

Russell E. Parsons and Ralph D. Paonessa, Los Angeles, for defendant and appellant.

Stanley Mosk, Atty. Gen., William E. James, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jack K. Weber, Deputy Atty. Gen., for plaintiff and respondent.

JEFFERSON, Justice.

In an information filed by the district attorney of the County of Los Angeles, defendant was charged with violation of section 192 of the Penal Code, manslaughter without malice. Defendant entered a plea of not guilty. Defendant and all counsel waived trial by jury and the matter was tried by the court. The court found defendant guilty of voluntary manslaughter. Probation was denied. Motion for a new trial was denied and defendant was sentenced to the state prison for the term prescribed by law.

It was stipulated that Dr. K. E. Chapman, a deputy county coroner was deemed to have been called, sworn and testified; on August 14, 1961, he performed an autopsy on the body of Thomas Beach, the victim; the cause of death was due to a gunshot wound in the abdomen.

Del L. Grant, a police officer, testified that on August 12, 1961, he was called to a residence at 8137 Hinds Avenue in Sun Valley. He arrived at the residence about 5:50 p. m. and saw a man later identified as the victim Thomas Beach lying on the floor; defendant Charlene Beatrice Beach was kneeling beside him. He noticed a small puncture wound in the area of the man's chest. The man was moaning and groaning. He observed a .22 caliber rifle lying on a counter separating the living room from the kitchen. There was an odor of gun powder about the gun. Defendant was rubbing victim's fact with her hands and told the officer to 'help him,' 'help him.'

An ambulance was called. One of the ambulance crew asked if the man had shot himself. Defendant said, 'no,' that she had shot him. He asked her what was wrong and she said they had been fighting, drinking and arguing all day and he had hit her with a paddle. She said she went to the bedroom closet, obtained the rifle, went to a drawer and opened a box of shells, loaded the rifle and went to the kitchen to scare him, and he came at her. The next thing she knew, he was grabbing his chest and falling to the floor. She said she did not recall shooting the gun. She said at first she thought he was 'kidding' when he fell to the floor. She called the operator for an ambulance.

The officer further testified he examined the rifle. It contained two full rounds of ammunition and a shell which had been fired. The shells found in the rifle were the same type as came out of the bureau drawer. He had another conversation with defendant. Defendant said she and her husband had been arguing and drinking. They had a couple of drinks; then an argument arose between them because her husband wanted Sandra, her daughter by a former marriage, to mow the lawn. Defendant further related that she told the victim she thought Sandra had enough responsibility and she shouldn't mow the lawn. She told her husband she wanted the two boys to mow the lawn. He told her he would settle the affair and handle Sandra after she left for work. Defendant further stated she was afraid to leave Sandra at the house so she called a former sister-in-law and asked her to come over and get the daughter, but the sister-in-law was unable to do so. She further related that at the time when she was in Sandra's room her husband came in with a paddle and whacked her twice on the rear portion of her legs; he kept encouraging her to drink; she did not want to drink; she would go out to the kitchen and pour the drinks down the sink. She kept telling him she needed some rest so she could go to work. She went into her bedroom, closed the door and her husband came in and threw some water on her. After this she got up from the bed and went to the closet, got the rifle, and repeated in substance her former statement of loading the rifle and of the shooting. She was asked by the officer if they had been having problems before and she replied, 'Yes, we had been fighting for a couple of weeks and had many arguments.' She further related she was not familiar with guns; this was the first time she had ever shot a gun; her husband had hit her twice before with the paddle, and had threatened to hit Sandra that day. The officer expressed the opinion that during the interview defendant seemed emotionally upset. He observed that she appeared to have some discoloration on the back of her neck.

T. H. Gerber, a police detective testified he heard defendant say that her husband had beaten her that day, choked her, grabbed her by the hair, picked her up by the seat of the pants and threw her into the bedroom. He noted she had marks on her neck which he thought showed evidence of choking. He further testified he also had a conversation with defendant on the day of the shooting. She repeated substantially the statements made to the other officer, adding that twice that day he had struck her on the back of the legs with the paddle when she refused to continue drinking with him; and he would fix her daughter Sandra after she went to work.

A police woman testified that she examined defendant's buttocks and rear portion of her things and found a red mark on the right side of her buttocks.

Defendant testified in her own behalf. Her testimony conformed with the statements she had made initially to the police. She added that when her husband was dissatisfied because he didn't like the job Sandra had done in mowing the lawn, he told Sandra to go out and mow it again. Sandra told him she was tired; she wanted to shampoo her hair. Sandra began screaming, 'Mommy,' 'Mommy!' Defendant stated it was then that she got up and went into the room. Her husband had both Sandra's arms twisted behind her back. She told her husband, 'Leave the child alone, she did what you asked.' She told her husband she would ask their sons to finish the lawn. Her husband continued to drink and got worse and worse. She told Sandra, 'We aren't going to argue with your dad. Go into your room, then you can set your hair.' They went into her room. She was lying on the bed and Sandra was sitting at the foot of the bed when her husband came in a short time later and started twisting Sandra's arm. She told her husband to please go away, but he came over and started calling defendant names, took her arm and rolled her off the bed. He then began twisting her arm and striking her with the paddle; then he walked out of the room. He came in the second time and started calling her names and hitting her with the paddle. The boys then came in and told him, 'Leave mother alone,' and left the room. She went to the kitchen where there were some martinis mixed in a pitcher and poured them down the drain. Her husband got another bottle of gin and she poured it down the drain. She went to her bedroom to lie down, but her husband came in and threw a pitcher of water all over her. She followed him into the kitchen where he was beginning to mix more drinks. She took them and poured them down the drain. When she did that, he grabbed her by the head and seat of her shorts and threw her back into the bedroom saying, 'I'll be back. I'm going to kill you and Sandra.' 'I've been through two wars. I was a paratrooper and I have killed before. It wouldn't bother me at all.'

She further testified she was afraid of her husband and had been afraid of him for more than two years. He had made many threats against their daughter Sandra. When he twisted Sandra's arm, he stated, 'When you go to work, Charlene, I'll fix Sandra.' She was fearful for Sandra's physical welfare. She told her daughter in his presence that she would have to take her to work with her.

She testified she did not remember the gun going off; that she certainly would not kill him; she remembered when she came out of the bedroom she had the gun in her possession and she saw her husband as he came out of the bedroom; that he looked real upset, his eyes large and he was 'sort of shaky.' She was frightened. She thought Sandra was in the bedroom; she was not quite sure. The gun discharged and...