Seals

Appellant Donald Seals was charged by indictment with murder, and, after a trial by jury, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter. He appeals the judgment of conviction.

In his opening brief, appellant assigns as error various rulings on the admission and exclusion of evidence, and the giving of certain instructions. In his reply brief, appellant raises the additional contention that the admission into evidence of a tape-recorded statement taken in the manner hereafter described constituted reversible error under the rule stated in two United States Supreme Court decisions rendered subsequent to the filing of appellant’s opening brief: Massiah v. United States (1964) 377 U.S. 201 [ 84 S.Ct. 1199 , 12 L.Ed.2d 246 ]; and Escobedo v. Illinois (1964) 378 U.S. 478 [ 84 S.Ct. 1758 , 12 L.Ed.2d 977 ]. This latter contention is meritorious, hence there is no necessity to discuss appellant’s other claims of error.

Early on the morning of March 3, 1963, Mark Bankendorf was driving north on Webster Street in San Francisco. As he proceeded, he heard screaming, and, upon stopping his car, ascertained that the sound was coming from an apartment building located at 1119 Webster Street. He was…