People v. Guan CA1/2

BACKGROUND

Evidence at Trial Sun, age 79, and Guan, then age 60, rented rooms in a house in San Francisco. They often argued: Sun’s night-time coughing kept Guan awake; she found him unduly noisy; and he thought she stole his eggs. One evening, a fellow tenant named Chen heard a noise and found the two arguing in the kitchen by an overturned trash can that Sun said Guan had kicked over. Guan was berating Sun, who looked fearful. Worried that Guan would hurt her, Chen stepped between them. On the afternoon Sun was killed, she was in her room attending a class by Zoom on her iPad. During the class, which began at 4:00 p.m., the class leader saw Sun move off camera and heard her say in Mandarin, “What are you doing?” The class leader and a student heard Sun scream and her body fall. They heard a “suffering . . . moaning” sound and gasping for air; they also heard blows. Finally, they saw—but only from the waist down—someone in gray sweatpants and blue slippers close Sun’s iPad. The class leader’s son called 911. Upon arriving at the house, responding officers encountered Guan, who was wearing gray sweatpants and blue slippers. Inside the house, the officers smelled burnt alcohol.…