People v. Laya

• Decision Date: 02 February 1954
• Docket Number: Cr. 2486
• Citation: 266 P.2d 157,123 Cal.App.2d 7
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: PEOPLE v. LAYA.

Page 157

266 P.2d 157

123 Cal.App.2d 7

PEOPLE v. LAYA.

Cr. 2486.

District Court of Appeal, Third District, California.

Feb. 2, 1954.

Robert R. Harlan, Sacramento, for appellant.

Edmund G. Brown, Atty. Gen., by Gail A. Strader, Deputy Atty. Gen., for respondent.

PAULSEN, Judge pro tem.

Appellant was charged by indictment with the murder of John Camalig and with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to commit murder. He interposed pleas of not guilty to each count, but was found guilty of murder of the first degree and of an assault upon Suzie Camalig with a deadly weapon with intent to commit murder and of the lesser offense of an assault upon Mary Camalig with a deadly weapon. The jury fixed the punishment on the count of murder at life imprisonment. After denial of appellant's motion for a new trial, judgment was pronounced and he was sentenced to life imprisonment in San Quentin as the penalty for the murder of which he was convicted and to serve the terms prescribed by law for assault with a deadly weapon and for assault with a deadly weapon with intent to commit murder.

Appellant urges that the evidence was insufficient to sustain a conviction of: 1. Murder in the first degree, or, 2. Assault with a deadly weapon upon Suzie Camalig with intent to commit murder, or, 3. Any assault upon Mary Camalig. He complains of misconduct upon the part of the district attorney and declares that the court was in error in the giving of two instructions requested by the People.

The appellant is a Filipino of about 40 years of age. He met the Camalig family in the late spring of 1951 and fell in love with their 16-year old daughter Suzie. Appellant was then in the merchant marine and he and Suzie corresponded until his return to Sacramento in June, 1952. During that time he sent Suzie and her family presents from various parts of the world. He also gave Suzie two certificates evidencing the fact that he had crossed the Equator and the Arctic Circle. These certificates were highly valued by the appellant and he testified that he felt that if Suzie kept them it would mean she was going to accept his proposal of marriage, but that if she returned them it would indicate her rejection of his suit.

Early in the evening of January 18, 1953, appellant called at the Camalig family residence and visited with Suzie and her parents, particularly with her deceased father, John Camalig. Appellant displayed no animosity toward any one at that time and it appeared that he was merely making his usual social call. The evidence makes it clear, however, that both Suzie and the members of her family were opposed to the continuance of the courtship, and appellant was well aware of their attitude. He testified that in order to determine what Suzie's feelings were toward him, he asked her that evening for the return of his certificates and that she professed to have lost them or to be unable to find them. Notwithstanding the fact that appellant was in the living room, Suzie excused herself and went to bed about eight o'clock, leaving him with the father and mother. Shortly thereafter Mrs. Camalig retired and appellant visited with the father until about 9 p. m.

Appellant then left the house and, according to the testimony of Mrs. Camalig, Mr. Camalig went to bed and the house was in darkness. There were three bedrooms in the house, each with a door opening upon the living room and Suzie occupied a bedroom adjoining that of her father and mother.

After leaving the Camalig home appellant went to a movie but remained only a short time as he felt 'restless' and was upset at his failure to get Suzie to commit herself definitely. About 11 o'clock that night he returned to the Camalig neighborhood, but instead of driving to the house, as he had done earlier in the evening, he parked the car about 1,000 feet from the Camalig house. Appellant admits that before he left the car he wrote the following note:

'18 January 1953.

'To All Concerned:

'Whatever else happens is of mutual understanding between Susie and me. It is also a lesson for parents not to play the trade of suckers. Had it not been for the ill will and wilful disregard of Susie's father, Apo Segundo Camalig, the essence of sacred matrimony must have been realized or materialized. This is the best which Susie and I could possibly do.'

Signed: 'Leo and Susie.'

That morning appellant had removed a Mauser automatic pistol from a trunk in which he had kept it for many years and placed it in his car. After writing the note, appellant took the gun and a flashlight and proceeded on foot to the Camalig home.

There is a sharp conflict in the evidence as to the manner in which the crimes were committed. Appellant testified that because of Suzie's attitude toward him and his belief that she would not marry him he determined to visit her and give her an opportunity to shoot him. He stated that on at least one prior occasion she had said that she might shoot him some time. He further stated that he wrote the note with that thought in mind and placed it in his pocket so that it would be found after his death as he did not expect to live any longer. Appellant testified that when he entered the house a light was on in the living room; that John Camalig was in the room partially dressed; that he requested John's permission to talk to Suzie; that after a short argument John struck him upon the head and the shots were fired while John was advancing upon him; that he did not know Suzie had been hit until he heard her call out that she had been shot.

There was abundant evidence to support the implied finding of the jury that the defendant's story was false in most particulars; that all members of the family were in bed and that the house was in total darkness as he stealthily approached it. Suzie testified that she was sound asleep and was awakened by the beams of a flashlight; that she jumped out of bed and saw a man propping open her bedroom door. She recognized the appellant at the time and 'screamed' to her father to come; that, without saying a word, and while only three feet away, appellant shot her in the abdomen; that immediately after the shot was fired she heard her father 'screaming' from the living room and appellant turned and started toward her father. Suzie lay down on the bed and heard a brief scuffle and three shots fired in the living room.

Mrs. Camalig testified that she was awakened by the sound of shots and a struggle in the living room. She got out of bed, turned on the lights and went out into the living room where she observed appellant on the front porch and her husband near the door of the front porch. Appellant was holding a gun in his hand which he raised and pointed at her and she heard it click twice, but the gun failed to fire. Appellant then went out the screen door of the porch and John Camalig fell to the floor. Mrs. Camalig helped her husband back into the living room and into a chair. She then ran out the back door, awakened her son and Felipe Pascual, a boarder and then ran back to the house and to her husband. At this time appellant returned by way of the front door. Mrs. Camalig faced him and kept backing up while appellant advanced into Suzie's room until the two reached the middle of the bedroom and just as appellant started to raise the pistol from his side Mrs. Camalig and Felipe seized him and during the struggle Mrs. Camalig was shot and slightly wounded. She and Felipe succeeded in taking the gun away from him and subduing him. At this time it was noticed that appellant was in his stocking feet.

Sheriff's officers were called and appellant was placed under arrest. The injured persons were removed to the hospital where John Camalig died the next day. The autopsy showed that he had been shot three times, once in the right forearm and twice in the back.

The questions as to whether the evidence was sufficient to establish an intent to murder Suzie and whether there was premeditation and deliberation in the killing of John are so closely related that the two may be considered together. It seems clear that appellant realized in the early morning of the day of the killing that matters were coming to a head at the Camalig home when he removed his gun from the trunk and put it into his car. His own testimony shows that he was dissatisfied with the actions of Suzie and that he had a slight argument with John Camalig before leaving the house that night. There was abundant evidence to indicate that the day was devoted to planning and to consideration of his problem. The use of the flashlight, the removal of his shoes and the manner of his approach to the house, all have a strong tendency to show a determination to kill and premeditation in determining the plan of his attacks. It is contended that the note is too vague to afford any definite indication of his intentions; but with this we cannot agree. Appellant's statement that he wanted it to be found on him after Suzie shot him was not binding upon the jury. The first and last sentences of the note and the fact that it was purportedly signed by appellant and Suzie, although she could not possibly have signed it, suggest strongly that appellant planned to kill both Suzie and himself and that he hoped the note would lead those who found the bodies to the conclusion that there had been a suicide pact. The remainder of the note evidences a strong conviction upon the part of appellant that the parents and particularly Suzie's father, were responsible for the failure of his marriage plans. The further fact that appellant said nothing when Suzie jumped out of bed and immediately shot her negatives the idea that he intended to give her the chance to kill him.

It is argued that if appellant had intended to kill either Suzie or her father he would not have stopped shooting after wounding them. The jury could well have concluded that he would have finished the killing in each case if he had not...