People v. Bonin
| Decision Date | 29 August 1988 |
| Docket Number | No. S004565,S004565 |
| Citation | 46 Cal.3d 659,250 Cal.Rptr. 687,758 P.2d 1217 |
| Court | California Supreme Court |
| Parties | , 758 P.2d 1217 The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. William George BONIN, Defendant and Appellant. Crim. 23286. |
Frank O. Bell, Jr., State Public Defender, under appointment by the Supreme Court, Monica Knox, Chief Asst. State Public Defender, and Adrian K. Panton, Deputy State Public Defender, for defendant and appellant.
John K. Van de Kamp, Atty. Gen., Steve White, Chief Asst. Atty. Gen., Jay M. Bloom, John W. Carney and Steven H. Zeigen, Deputy Attys. Gen., for plaintiff and respondent.
This is an automatic appeal from a judgment of death (Pen.Code, § 1239, subd. (b)) imposed under the 1978 death penalty law (id., § 190.1 et seq.).
After a jury trial defendant was convicted of the first degree murder (Pen.Code, § 187) and robbery (id., § 211) of Dennis Frank Fox, Glenn Barker, Russell Rugh, and Lawrence Sharp. As to each murder count, he was found to have been convicted in the same proceeding of more than one offense of murder within the meaning of the multiple-murder special circumstance of Penal Code section 190.2, subdivision (a)(3). For each of the four murders he received the penalty of death.
As we shall explain, we conclude that the judgment must be affirmed.
As a result of his activities in Southern California in the years 1979 and 1980, defendant--who was then in his early 30's--was dubbed the "Freeway Killer" and his murders the "freeway killings." Before he was tried in this Orange County proceeding, he was tried by a jury in Los Angeles County action No. A360975. There he was convicted of the first degree murder and robbery of Marcus Grabs, Donald Hyden, David Murillo, Charles Miranda, James Macabe, Ronald Gatlin, Harry Todd Turner, Steven Wood, Darin Lee Kendrick, and Steven Wells; as to each murder count, special circumstance allegations of multiple murder and felony murder-robbery (Pen.Code, § 190.2, subd. (a)(17)(i)) were found true; and for each murder he received the penalty of death.
The tale that is told by the evidence introduced at the guilt phase of the lengthy trial of this action is as follows.
On December 2, 1979, the nude body of 17-year-old Dennis Frank Fox was found on the side of the Ortega Highway in Casper's Regional Park in Orange County; no clothing or other identifying evidence was discovered at the scene. Fox had been killed by ligature strangulation about November 30. The body showed signs of beating about the face and elsewhere, exhibited ligature marks on the ankles and wrists as well as an approximately one-half inch ligature mark on the neck, revealed indications of sexual activity before death, and bore triskelion-shaped fibers in the pubic area.
On March 22, 1980, the nude body of 15-year-old Russell Rugh was found off the Ortega Highway in the San Juan Campgrounds in Orange County; no clothing or other identifying evidence was discovered at the scene. Rugh had been killed by ligature strangulation on March 21 or 22. The body showed signs of beating about the face and elsewhere, exhibited ligature marks on the ankles and wrists as well as an approximately one-half inch ligature mark on the neck, revealed indications of sexual activity before death, and bore triskelion-shaped fibers in the pubic area.
On the same day and in the same place that Rugh's body was discovered, the nude body of 14-year-old Glenn Barker was found; no clothing or other identifying evidence was discovered at the scene. Like Rugh, Barker had been killed by ligature strangulation on March 21 or 22. The body showed signs of beating about the face and elsewhere, exhibited ligature marks on the ankles and wrists as well as an approximately one-half inch ligature mark on the neck, revealed indications of sexual activity before death, and bore triskelion-shaped fibers in the pubic area.
On May 18, 1980, the nude body of 17-year-old Lawrence Sharp was found at a gasoline station on the corner of Westminster Boulevard and Bolsa Chica in Westminster in Orange County; no clothing or other identifying evidence was discovered at the scene. Sharp had been killed by ligature strangulation on May 17 or 18. The body showed signs of beating about the face and elsewhere, exhibited ligature marks on the ankles and wrists, as well as an approximately one-half inch ligature mark on the neck, revealed indications of sexual activity before death, and bore triskelion-shaped fibers in the head hair.
In order to establish that it was defendant who had perpetrated the killings, the prosecution presented expert testimony that the triskelion-shaped fibers discovered on the body of each of the victims were consistent with carpeting in a van owned by defendant, and that the van was stained in several places with human blood.
To establish identity, the prosecution also introduced "other crimes" evidence relating to the killing of Charles Miranda and Steven Wells. 1
On February 3, 1980, the nude body of 15-year-old Charles Miranda was found in an alley in downtown Los Angeles; no clothing or other identifying evidence was discovered at the scene. Miranda had been killed by ligature strangulation in the late night of February 2 or in the early morning of February 3. The body showed signs of beating about the face and elsewhere, exhibited ligature marks on the ankles and wrists as well as on the neck, revealed indications of sexual activity before death, and bore the same kind of triskelion-shaped fiber in the pubic area that the bodies of Fox, Rugh, Barker, and Sharp bore.
Gregory Miley, a sexual partner of defendant and about 19 years old at the time relevant here, testified that it was defendant who was responsible for the death of Miranda. Specifically, he said that he was with defendant as defendant was driving his van on the night of February 2, 1980; defendant picked up Miranda in Hollywood and consensually sodomized him in the back of the van; he then tied him up; afterwards, he said to Miley, Miley responded, "Why don't you just let the kid go?," and defendant replied, "No, because he'll know us and he'll know the van"; defendant then proceeded to strangle Miranda with Miley's help, dumped his body in an alley in downtown Los Angeles, and disposed of his clothing and other property in various locations.
On June 3, 1980, the nude body of 18-year-old Steven Wells was found behind a gasoline station in Huntington Beach; no clothing or other identifying evidence was discovered at the scene. Wells had been killed by ligature strangulation on June 2. The body showed signs of beating about the face and elsewhere, exhibited ligature marks on the ankles and wrists as well as on the neck, revealed indications of sexual activity before death, and bore the same kind of triskelion-shaped fiber that the bodies of Fox, Rugh, Barker, Sharp, and Miranda bore.
James Munro, a sexual partner of defendant and about 19 years old at the time relevant here, testified that it was defendant who was responsible for the death of Wells. Specifically, he said that he was with defendant as defendant was driving his van on June 2, 1980; defendant picked up Wells as he was hitchhiking and participated in mutual consensual oral copulation with him in the back of the van; the trio eventually arrived at defendant's home in Downey; there, defendant and Wells continued their sexual activity; soon defendant persuaded Wells to allow himself to be tied up; defendant took money and items of identification from Wells's wallet; he then proceeded with Munro's help to strangle Wells and to dump his body behind a gasoline station in Huntington Beach; defendant told Munro that he was the "Freeway Killer," and that Miley was involved with him in the killings.
To establish identity, the prosecution also introduced evidence of extrajudicial admissions by defendant linking him to the charged crimes. Among other witnesses it called one David Lopez, a reporter for Los Angeles television station KNXT. Lopez testified that defendant had admitted that it was he who killed Fox, Rugh, Barker, and Sharp, and also Miranda and Wells. Other witnesses gave testimony to the effect that defendant had said he would not leave witnesses to his criminal activity alive.
Through the examination of its own witnesses and the cross-examination of the prosecution's, the defense attempted to show that the evidence could not support a determination beyond a reasonable doubt that it was defendant who killed Fox, Rugh, Barker, and Sharp or even Miranda and Wells. Specifically, in its case-in-chief it attacked Munro's credibility and tried to undermine the persuasiveness of the prosecution's expert testimony concerning the triskelion-shaped fibers found on the victims' bodies.
At the penalty phase the prosecution presented evidence in aggravation. Some of that evidence related to prior adjudicated felonies and told the following tale. Defendant committed sexual attacks in late 1968 and early 1969 against 12-year-old Lawrence B., 14-year-old William J., 17-year-old John T., and 18-year-old Jesus M. As a result of his activities, in the spring of 1969 he was convicted of molesting and forcibly orally copulating Lawrence B., kidnapping and sodomizing William J., sodomizing John T., and forcibly orally copulating Jesus M., and was committed to Atascadero State Hospital as a mentally disordered sex offender amenable to treatment. In 1971 he was returned to court, declared unamenable to treatment, and committed to prison. Subsequent to his release, defendant committed a sexual attack on 14-year-old David M. in September 1975. Later that year he was convicted of forcibly orally copulating the boy and was sentenced to prison.
The prosecution also introduced evidence relating to the Los Angeles killings. Specifically, it attempted to...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
People v. Molano
...960, 86 Cal.Rptr.2d 243, 978 P.2d 1171.) Indeed, Smithey noted that the lead case for that proposition, People v. Bonin (1988) 46 Cal.3d 659, 689, 250 Cal.Rptr. 687, 758 P.2d 1217, had been overruled by Hill on another point. ( Smithey , at p. 960, 86 Cal.Rptr.2d 243, 978 P.2d 1171, citing ......
-
People v. Johnson
...of such additional challenges he is reasonably likely to receive an unfair trial before a partial jury." ( People v. Bonin (1988) 46 Cal.3d 659, 679, 250 Cal.Rptr. 687, 758 P.2d 1217 ; accord, People v. DePriest (2007) 42 Cal.4th 1, 23, 63 Cal.Rptr.3d 896, 163 P.3d 896.) Defendant bases thi......
-
Dickey v. Davis
...instruction that the jury may votefor LWOP even in the absence of mitigating factors. (Doc. No. 51-1 ¶¶ 609-614, citing People v. Bonin, 46 Cal. 3d 659, 698 (1988), overruled on other grounds by People v. Hill, 17 Cal. 4th 800, 823 (1998) (no sua sponte requirement to instruct on the meanin......
-
Dixon v. Rackley
...likelihood'" means something less than "'more probable than not,'" but something more than "merely 'possible.'" (People v. Bonin (1988) 46 Cal.3d 659, 673, overruled on another ground in People v. Hill (1998) 17 Cal.4th 800, 823, fn. 1.) Each case is resolved on its own facts, and the movin......