The People v. Landry CA4/3

FACTS

On September 18, 2008, Darlene Saddler died in her Santa Ana residence. When Saddler was found, she was “lying motionless face down in the kitchen” with a kitchen knife in the back of her neck. Bullet fragments and a silver .22 caliber casing were found in the kitchen. Blood was spattered on the kitchen walls and ceilings. A bullet was removed from Saddler’s brain at her autopsy. A forensic pathologist opined that Saddler’s death was a homicide caused by three gunshot wounds to the head and a stab wound to the neck. Saddler’s young daughter told her older brother (who found

1 All statutory references are to the Penal Code.

2 2 Saddler) that a man had entered the house. The coroner estimated the time of death as 9:30 a.m. Defendant, who turned 18 on September 2, 2008, was linked to the murder of Saddler by several distinct strands of evidence. First, defendant had a relationship with Saddler’s teenage daughter, Paula K. (who did not testify). Early in 2009, police found defendant’s phone number in Paula’s cell phone records. Defendant met Paula in mid-2007 and had what defendant considered to be a romantic relationship with Paula after July 21, 2008. Jonathan Hanna claimed…