People v. Bashor

48 Cal.2d 763 (1957) THE PEOPLE, Respondent,

v.

DONALD KEITH BASHOR, Appellant.

Crim. No. 6004. Supreme Court of California. In Bank.

June 21, 1957. Terrence W. Cooney, under appointment by the Supreme Court, for Appellant.

Edmund G. Brown, Attorney General, and Elizabeth Miller, Deputy Attorney General, for Respondent. [764]

GIBSON, C.J.

Defendant was indicted on two counts of murder and two of burglary. He initially entered pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity but later pleaded guilty to all counts. A jury trial was waived by defendant, and evidence was received for the purpose of determining the issue of sanity, the degree of the offenses and the penalty to be imposed. The court found that all of the offenses were of the first degree and that the defendant was sane at the time they were committed. Defendant's motion for a new trial was denied, and he was sentenced to death on each of the murder counts. This appeal comes before us automatically. (Pen. Code, 1239, subd. (b).)

[1] On the night of February 18, 1955, an apartment occupied by three women at 215 South Carondelet Street in Los Angeles was entered while they slept, and the sum of $87 was taken from their purses. On the same night, in an apartment at 271 South Carondelet, Karil Graham was beaten to death. The contents of her purse were found scattered on the floor when her body was discovered, and drawers in the kitchen and living room were open. In the opinion of the doctor who performed an autopsy, the multiple head injuries which the victim suffered were caused by repeated blows with a hard object which could have been a piece of lead pipe.

In May of 1956, Laura Lindsay was slain in her home, which was located about two blocks from the site of the previous killing. Her body, which was found at 8:30 a. m., was partially clothed, and there were various articles strewn over the floor. A palm print was discovered on a firewood box which was open, permitting entry from outside, and it was subsequently determined that the print was made by defendant. An autopsy surgeon found that the victim had sustained several head wounds which, in his opinion, could have been produced by a ball peen hammer.