People v. Gonzalez

GIBSON, C. J. Defendant was indicted for the murder of Juanita Zepeda. He entered pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity but withdrew them and pleaded guilty to murder in the first degree. Upon a trial by jury on the sole issue of penalty, his punishment was fixed at death. His motion for a new trial was denied, and the appeal comes to us automatically under subdivision (b) of section 1239 of the Penal Code.

Juanita Zepeda, who was 10 years old, was in bed asleep when her family left for work in the early morning of August 29, 1960. There was evidence that she was then wearing a blouse, a slip and panties. When her mother came home in the afternoon, Juanita had disappeared. The bedspread and the upper sheet on her bed were missing, and the lower sheet was disarranged. A metal box which contained money and was kept under her bed was also gone. On the following day, the girl’s body was discovered buried in the yard of her home. The blouse and the slip were still on the body, but the panties were not. A doctor who performed an autopsy found six wounds produced by blows on the head, neck and shoulders, but in his opinion the wounds, while bringing about unconsciousness, were not the cause of death, and the girl was alive when buried and died of asphyxiation. The doctor testified that decomposition had started quickly due to the hot weather and the shallowness of the grave and that he was unable to determine whether Juanita had been sexually molested. The missing bedspread, sheet and panties were never found.

Upon being interrogated by the police, defendant confessed to having killed Juanita and showed them where he had buried the metal box and hidden some of the money it contained. His version of what occurred, as related to the police and in his testimony at the trial, was that he went to the Zepeda home about 9 or 9 :30 on the morning in question to take money which he had heard was kept there. Juanita, who was awake in the living room, told him that her parents were not at home, and he went outside and was about to leave when “something came into [his] mind.” He reentered and struck Juanita with his hand, then went into the yard, picked up a gate hinge, and, returning to the living room, struck her twice on the head. Defendant stated that he thought of taking her to a doctor but decided she was dead and buried her. Then he went into the bedroom where he knew the money was kept, took the metal box, and left. According to defendant, he did not molest Juanita or take the bedspread [319]or the sheet. He said that he did not remove her panties and noticed she was not wearing any when he picked her up and carried her outside.