People v. Serpa CA2/2

BACKGROUND

Facts The underlying crime3 One morning in the summer of 1985, a concerned neighbor checked on Jean Wildish at her apartment in Santa Monica and found Wildish’s bloody body in the apartment’s bedroom. Wildish was naked from the waist down and was positioned with her knees on the floor and her head on the bed. An autopsy confirmed that Wildish had died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head. (Serpa I, supra, B027704.) Defendant and a friend had planned to rob Wildish’s apartment, but when she awoke, either defendant or his friend hit Wildish over the head with a hammer. (Serpa I, supra,

B027704.)

Conviction and appeal In April 1987, a jury found defendant guilty of first degree murder, and found true the special circumstance that Wildish was murdered during the commission of robbery and burglary.

For the sake of simplicity, we refer to the section by its new numbering. 3 The following facts are drawn from this court’s unpublished decision in defendant’s direct appeal from his conviction. (People v. Serpa (June 1, 1988, B027704) [nonpub. opn.] (Serpa I).)

2 At that time, the jury was instructed that it could find true the felony-murder special circumstance…