People v. McClish CA6

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Facts of the Offense 1. Overview In September 2006, defendant was a 37-year-old manager at the Ben Lomond Market (the Market) in Ben Lomond. He also worked side jobs doing yard maintenance, removing trees, and cutting firewood at various locations around town. He was married to Melissa Vernali; the couple had three young children. Joanna “Asha” Veil, a 28-year-old cashier at the Market, had had an affair with defendant and believed she was pregnant with his child. On September 9, 2006, she told a friend she planned to confront defendant concerning his responsibility for the unborn child. Veil disappeared soon afterward. Five days later, her dead body was found off the side of a road several miles from the Market. The body had suffered blunt force trauma, and a rope was tied tightly around her neck. Veil had been pregnant for about seven months at the time of her death; the fetus did not survive. In May 2008, after nineteen months of investigation, defendant was charged with two counts of murder. 2. Defendant’s Wife Melissa Vernali In 1995, at age 16, Vernali began working in the floral department of the Market. She met defendant when he was…