People v. Cromer CA2/1

BACKGROUND

1. The relationship between defendant and victim L.S. Gretta Thompson is a licensed vocational nurse. She also may have been defendant’s “live-in” girlfriend, although this was disputed at trial. In April of 2010 she worked as an in-home nurse for defendant, assisting him with dialysis and diabetes- related issues.2 She and her children (including L.S.) and their cousin spent nights at defendant’s Torrance apartment when doing so made it easier to get to her other job early in the morning. 2. The injury to L.S. On the night of April 29, Thompson, her teenage daughter B., her children L.S. (then age five), K.S. (then age 10), and their cousin A.T. (then age six) stayed at

Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. Undesignated date references are to 2010.

2 defendant’s apartment. Thompson testified that when the children arrived from their grandmother’s house, L.S. had no injuries of which Thompson was aware. Thompson left for work somewhere between 4:45 a.m. and 5:15 a.m. on April 30. On April 30, L.S. approached a teacher’s aide and asked to visit the school nurse because his arm hurt. The aide saw bruises and red welts running the…