People v. Tefera CA3

BACKGROUND

A. The Prosecution’s Case1 1. Defendant’s relationship with the victim T.T. worked outside the home and defendant was the primary caretaker of their two children, daughter H.T. and son A.T. Defendant had a history of suspecting T.T. was unfaithful to him. At one point while the children were young, he paid for DNA tests, the results of which confirmed they were both his biological children. Between 2014 through 2018, defendant told his friend that T.T. routinely locked herself in the bedroom after dinner and that he thought she was having an affair. He also suspected T.T. was going to divorce him, began referring to T.T. as his “future ex-wife,” and researched the likely financial impact of a divorce. When defendant’s friend heard of how T.T. died, he said to defendant, “[D]on’t tell me. If you did it, I don’t want to know.” T.T.’s friends and coworkers testified to what T.T. told them about her relationship with defendant. She told friends that she was afraid of defendant and felt he controlled every aspect of her life, including what clothing she wore. He would frequently be upset if she worked late or mentioned male coworkers. He also contacted coworkers to see if…