People v. Little CA3

BACKGROUND

Doe met Little when she was 26 years old and he was 50. They married less than one month later. Little assaulted Doe multiple times after they married. The first time, Little “choked [Doe] out” until she lost consciousness. Little also repeatedly threatened Doe. On one occasion, when Doe said she wanted a divorce, he told her, “[Y]ou can’t leave, I’m going to kill you.” On another, he said he would “get a tool and sodom[ize]” her. He also told Doe he would kill her family if she involved them in the couple’s disputes. In July 2022, an information charged Little with three counts of assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury (Pen. Code, § 245, subd. (a)(4); counts I, II, & III),1 one count of injuring a spouse (§ 273.5, subd. (a); count IV), and one count of making criminal threats (§ 422, subd. (a); count V).2 Among other additional allegations in the information, the prosecutor alleged that in connection with counts I and II Little inflicted great bodily injury within the meaning of section 12022.7, subdivision (e). After the close of evidence at trial, the prosecutor reminded the jurors that they “heard evidence that there were multiple instances of”…