Caylor

This is an appeal from a judgment of conviction of murder which the trial court, as the trier of fact, found to be of the first degree. Appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Appellant’s principal grounds of appeal are: (1) he was prevented from receiving a fair trial upon his defense of diminished capacity because pursuant to stipulation of counsel the guilt and insanity phases of his trial were combined; (2) as a matter of law the evidence does not establish murder in the first degree.

About 1:30 p.m., on December 24, 1965, appellant walked into the central office of Alcoholics Anonymous in Van Nuys and directly over to a desk in the rear where Jesse Wells, the office manager, was sitting. Appellant inquired of Wells, “Are you Jess Wells?” Wells said “Yes.” Appellant then killed Wells by shooting him with a hand gun he had been carrying in an attaché case specially fashioned for this purpose. He left at once.

The background of this killing is as follows. On September 6, 1964, appellant and one Barbara Smith, both members of Alcoholics Anonymous, were married. They separated three days later and some weeks later Barbara filed an annulment action which apparently was…