Giovanetti
Giovanetti v. D. L.
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Christian, J.
D.L. and T.R. appeal from orders of the juvenile court determining that they came within the court’s jurisdiction as a result of committing voluntary manslaughter (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 602; Pen. Code, § 192, subd. 1).
On June 27, 1973, police discovered the body of juvenile Lupe Torres in a vacant field in Salinas. The victim had been strangled with a belt and his skull had been fractured with a rock. Appellants D.L. and T.R. were taken into custody on the basis of information, given by M.A., that appellants and two other juveniles, R.C. and C.G., had killed the victim following a party on the night of June 22, 1973.
At a joint jurisdictional hearing pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 602, involving appellants, R.C. and C.G., M.A. testified that he, the victim, appellants, and the two other youths went to a vacant field after the party to sniff paint fumes. He testified that appellant T.R. got into a fight with the victim and that appellant D.L. and the two others joined in the fight on T.R.’s side. According to M.A., appellant D.L. pulled on a belt which had been placed around the victim’s neck, hit, kicked and stabbed the victim. While M.A. did not see…