Westcott

The respondent was accused by the grand jury of Los Angeles County with the crime of murder, was convicted by a jury, and the judgment was reversed. (People v. Westcott, 86 Cal. App. 298 [ 260 Pac. 901 ].) Upon a second trial he was again convicted, the jury recommending imprisonment for life, whereupon he moved for a new trial, which was granted, and the People now appeal from the order granting such motion.

To state most favorably to the People the evidence upon which they rely for a reversal, Charles G. Westcott, the defendant’s father, was shot as he opened the door of his residence in response to the bell at 909 South Cochran Street, and died shortly afterward. At the time of e the shooting the decedent’s widow saw a shadow and heard a footstep on the front porch. A Mrs. Heffelfinger, while walking westerly on Ninth Street, toward the Westcott residence, heard two shots in the direction of their house, and instantly looking up, saw the form of a person emerge from some brush on a vacant lot at the corner of Cochran and Ninth Streets, where she also heard footsteps as of someone running. This witness testified that she saw two men near by, with whom she talked, but that she…