Duncan

I. Factual and Procedural Background

A. The Crime

At the time of the murder, Duncan worked as a cashier at the International Host Restaurant in the Los Angeles Interna- 2 Duncan also asserts that he received ineffective assistance of counsel in the penalty phase. Although his claim is likely meritorious, we need not reach the question because our holding necessitates vacating the sentence. We address Duncan’s remaining claims that relate to the guilt phase of his trial in a separate memorandum disposition filed concurrently with this opinion. Because we find no merit to those claims, we affirm the district court’s denial of habeas relief as to his conviction for first-degree felony murder. DUNCAN v. ORNOSKI 7313 tional Airport. The murder victim, Josephine Eileen DeBaun, was his supervisor. As part of her closing duties each night, DeBaun balanced the day’s receipts and deposited them in a safe located in a small caged area in the restaurant’s back office. This caged area was commonly called “the money room.” DeBaun was murdered in the money room on the night of November 13, 1984.

On that evening, Duncan completed his regular shift and clocked out…