People v. Bertholf

STONE, J.

Appellant, charged with the murder of his mother, pleaded not guilty, and not guilty by reason of insanity. Proceedings were instituted pursuant to Penal Code section 1368 to determine whether he was presently sane and able to stand trial. Psychiatrists reported appellant to be

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sane, and the court found him sane and able to assist in his own defense. He thereafter withdrew his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, and proceeded to trial on his plea of not guilty. A jury found him guilty of murder, second degree; judgment was entered pursuant to the verdict, and this appeal followed.

Prior to the murder, appellant, who was divorced, lived with his father and mother in Fresno County near the City of Clovis, some 6 miles from the City of Fresno. The parents operated a tavern, the mother working during the day shift and the father at night. On the night of the murder, the mother had returned from work, eaten dinner, and retired. Before going to bed she rubbed her neck with either Mentholatum or Vicks Vapo-Eub and placed a handkerchief around her neck. When her husband returned home from work around 2 a.m., he found her dead in bed. An autopsy disclosed death by strangulation, apparently by use of the handkerchief. The bedclothing was not in disarray and there was no sign of a struggle, the victim had not been molested sexually and no money had been taken although there was a considerable amount on a table in the house. The only person known to have been in the home before the husband’s return was appellant. According to him, he entered the house about 11:30 p.m. and unintentionally awakened his mother when he walked through her bedroom. He testified to a conversation with her during which she criticised him severely, as a result of which he became angry, blacked out, and when he regained awareness discovered he was several blocks away from his home, walking towards Fresno. By a devious route he proceeded to the Greyhound Bus Depot in Fresno. He bought a roundtrip ticket to San Francisco, and shortly thereafter was arrested while still in the depot.

This appeal is taken on the sole ground of insufficiency of the evidence to support the jury verdict of murder, second degree. Appellant concedes that the function of weighing the evidence and resolving conflicts therein lies with the trial court, and that the question on appeal is solely whether there is evidence of a substantial nature that supports the verdict.