Brothers
People v. Beatrice Bros.
Opinion
Opinion
Perluss, J.
A jury convicted Beatrice Brothers of voluntary manslaughter, a lesser included offense of murder, and found true the special allegation she had personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon. On appeal Brothers contends the court erred in failing to instruct the jury sua sponte on involuntary manslaughter. She also contends there is insufficient evidence to support the jury’s verdict. We affirm.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
1. The Amended Information Following Our Reversal of the Judgment
In December 2011 this court reversed Brothers’s conviction for first degree murder. We held the trial court had prejudicially erred in instructing the jury with former CALCRIM No. 400 because, as written, that instruction reasonably permitted the jury to convict Brothers of first degree premeditated murder based solely on the mental state of her codefendants. (See People v. Brothers (Dec. 12, 2011, B225376) [nonpub. opn.].)
Following issuance of the remittitur in February 2012, Brothers was recharged in an amended information with one count of murder (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a)) and one count of torture (§ 206). It was specially alleged as to both counts Brothers had personally…