Fusselman

By indictment, the Kern County Grand Jury charged appellant with the murders of his two children, aged four and three years. He entered pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. Three psychiatrists were appointed to examine appellant and investigate his sanity. At trial appellant was found guilty of two counts of first degree murder; thereafter, the jury found he was sane at the time both murders were committed. Appellant’s motions for a new trial and for reduction of the degree of the crime were denied and he was sentenced to concurrent life terms in the state prison.

Case-In-Chief

At the time of the charged offenses appellant was 52 years old and his third marriage was heading toward dissolution. His wife was 38; this was her second marriage. Because of the serious asthmatic condition of appellant’s three-year-old daughter, he and the daughter, Danielle, had spent six months preceding the offenses in Denver seeking special treatment for her condition. The four-year-old son, Danny, had remained with his mother in Bakersfield.

In December of 1971, after appellant had returned with his daughter to Bakersfield, his wife served him with divorce papers. He…