Riddle

Conviction for first degree murder and related offenses. Defendant’s principal claim of error is receipt in evidence of his admissions and confessions.

I

We set out the significant facts in the order in which they unfolded:

December 2, 1976, 8:45 p.m. (Arcadia). Robert Kane, an attorney practicing in Los Angeles, returned to his house adjacent to the mountain area of Arcadia to find the premises in moderate disarray, two television sets, stereo components, a box of coins, and camera equipment missing, and his wife of 15 months, Renee Kane, who was 6 months pregnant, also missing. Her automobile was parked in the garage.

Kane notified the police who, after interviewing neighbors, identified defendant Riddle, a painter’s helper who had worked painting the Kane house in October, as a possible material witness who had been seen in the area earlier in the day.

Within a few hours Riddle’s automobile was located on the street in Pasadena. The police staked it out.

December 3, 3:40 a.m. (Pasadena). Riddle returned to his automobile, saw the police, and took off. A high-speed chase ensued, which ended when Riddle crashed his auto into a fence and onto the shoulder of an…