Earnest

Defendant was charged by indictment with the murder of Ruben Enrique Munoz and with arson. The superior court denied defendant’s motion to set aside the indictment as to the arson count but granted the motion as to the murder count. The People appeal from the order granting defendant’s motion to dismiss the murder charge.

Summary of the Evidence

The transcript of the proceedings before the grand jury shows a conspiracy between Munoz and defendant to burn defendant’s house for the insurance proceeds. Defendant solicited the 15-year-old Munoz to burn the house; Munoz was to receive $100 from defendant for the task. The plan was for defendant to turn on the natural gas inside the house, close the windows, push in a back window to simulate an attempted break-in, and leave a can of gasoline on the porch. Munoz was to spread the gasoline around the outside of the house and ignite it. On July 7, 1973, Munoz, acting alone, attempted to set fire to the then unoccupied home, an explosion occurred and Munoz was killed. The fatal fire was observed by Steven Fernandez, a cousin of Munoz, who had driven Munoz to the scene. On the way to defendant’s house, Munoz told Fernandez, “I’m…