In Re Nourn
Opinion
Opinion
McDONALD, J.
Ny Nourn filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging the judgment entered after a jury convicted her of the first degree murder of David Stevens (Pen.Code, §§ 187, subd. (a), 189) and arson (Pen.Code, § 451, subd. (d)). Her petition asserts that because her defense counsel did not investigate the existence of, and present evidence on, battered women's syndrome (BWS), [1] she was denied her constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel. We conclude the performance of Nourn's defense counsel was below the applicable standard of objective reasonableness and resulted in prejudice to Nourn.
In the predawn hours of December 23, 1998, a La Jolla resident heard an explosion and saw a fire on La Jolla Scenic Drive near Ardath Road. Firefighters responded to her 911 call and discovered a vehicle engulfed in flames. A body was in the front passenger seat; a forensic dentist identified the victim as Stevens.
An autopsy revealed that Stevens had been shot twice in the head before his body was burned. One of the shots was fired from a distance of about one-half inch. Each of the gunshot wounds would have been fatal.