Hightower

Certified for Partial Publication. [*]

Defendant Felix D. Hightower was convicted of the murder of his mother and of arson in connection with a fire which led to the discovery of her body. On appeal he contends that the trial court erred by excusing a juror who professed during deliberations a categorical disbelief that a son could murder his mother under the circumstances shown by the evidence. The appeal also presents the question whether the trial court properly stayed sentence on the arson charge under Penal Code section 654.

Shortly after 6:00 o'clock on the morning of Monday, September 3,1990, a fire broke out in the apartment occupied by defendant and his mother, Mary Hightower. A neighbor, seven years old at the time of the fire, testified that he was awakened by sirens and looked out his window to see defendant running from the alley in front of the apartment. Fire Fighters entering the apartment found Ms. Hightower and her dog, both dead, in the bedroom. Ms. Hightower had been stabbed or cut approximately 63 times and had died as a result of the stabbings. Her death occurred one to three days before the fire. The fire had been set deliberately on the bed…