People v. Hayter CA1/5

BACKGROUND

Prosecution Case Doe testified that she met appellant about eight years earlier, when he was incarcerated and she worked at the jail. After he was released, they began dating. During the first year of their relationship, appellant accused her of infidelity and, on three occasions, was physically violent: he slapped

1 All undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. her face; burned the back of her wrist with a lighter, leaving a “tiny scar” that had “pretty much faded”; and hit her on the thigh with an antenna-like object. After the first year, the relationship improved and appellant stopped engaging in physical violence, but he continued to accuse Doe of infidelity from time to time and she modified her behavior so as not to upset him. On a Friday in July 2022, Doe and appellant checked into a hotel room to spend the weekend together, which they did regularly. About 5:00 p.m., Doe left to have dinner with a female friend. She told appellant she would be back in a couple of hours, but did not return until about 11:00 p.m. Appellant was not in the hotel room when she returned, but arrived about 15 to 20 minutes later. He seemed upset and started accusing…