Kovacich

In 1982, Janet Kovacich disappeared after telling her husband that she was leaving him and taking their two young children with her. The *868 husband, defendant Paul Ralph Kovacich, Jr., was controlling and abusive in the marriage; he admitted to cheating on her and was seen in the arms of another woman within two days of her disappearance; he played no active role in searching for her despite the fact that he was a trained dog handler with the Placer County Sheriff’s Department; and he told his new girlfriend that his wife “wasn’t coming back.” In 1995, a portion of Janet’s skull was discovered near Rollins Lake, a place defendant had experience patrolling. The skull, which was not determined to be Janet’s until 2007, had a hole that was consistent with an entrance wound caused by a gunshot from a large-caliber handgun, similar to the weapon defendant had been issued as a law enforcement officer.

More than 26 years after Janet’s disappearance, a jury convicted defendant of first degree murder and found that he personally used a firearm during the commission of the crime. The trial court sentenced defendant to state prison for an indeterminate term of 25 years to life…