People v. Demorais CA5

INTRODUCTION

In 1997, appellant and defendant Wedson Rosa Demorais (defendant) fatally stabbed his wife’s 79-year-old grandparents, Amelia and Gerrald Hunt. He also stabbed and seriously injured his wife’s mother, Lois Miranda. After a jury trial, defendant was convicted of counts 1 and 2, first degree murder with a multiple-murder special circumstance, and count 3, attempted premeditated murder; several enhancements were found true. This court affirmed defendant’s convictions in 2002. In 2019, defendant filed a petition in the Superior Court of Stanislaus County for resentencing pursuant to Penal Code1 section 1170.95 and alleged his murder convictions were based on the felony-murder rule or the natural and probable consequences doctrine, and that he was not the actual killer. The court denied the petition. On appeal, his appellate counsel has filed a brief that summarizes the facts with citations to the record, raises no issues, and asks this court to independently review the record. (People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 (Wende).) We affirm.

FACTS2

“Defendant and Jean Cardoza married in 1990. They had two sons, Nayo in 1993 and Tavio in 1995. In 1992, defendant and Cardoza…