Nazeri

I. INTRODUCTION

Bahram Nazeri was contemplating suicide on Tuesday night, August 22, 2006. He was in the company of his two brothers, Yadi and Shawn, at his own home in northern Irvine. One of the brothers decided to call the Irvine Police Department. When officers arrived, Bahram grabbed something from the kitchen and went into the backyard. Bahram told the officers he had a gun. There was a standoff. Bahram surrendered after an hour. He had no gun, but he had cut his wrists and there was blood on his face and hands.

When the police searched the house, they found the bodies of Bahrain’s wife and mother-in-law in the shower of a locked downstairs bathroom. Two nights before, each had been stabbed more than 20 times.

Bahram admitted he had done the killings. He was subsequently convicted of two counts of first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole.

The sole issue presented in this appeal is whether there was sufficient evidence to sustain his convictions for first degree murder — that is, murder that requires deliberation and premeditation — in regard to both victims. We affirm, because the evidence was susceptible of this…