Aguilar

Hector Manuel Aguilar appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for habeas corpus, alleging that his counsel at his state murder trial provided ineffective assistance.

FACTS

Hector Manuel Aguilar was convicted of first-degree murder by a jury in California state court for killing his girlfriend, Cecilia Chayra. This account of the facts found by the state court appears in People v. Aguilar, 218 Cal.App.3d 1556 , 267 Cal.Rptr. 879, 880-81 (1990).

Blood stains were found in the kitchen, in the bathroom and on the living room wall near the front door.

As appellant was arrested outside his parents’ home a few hours after the killing, his father asked what he had done, and appellant responded, “Termine a Cecilia,” which means “I finished Cecilia off.”

At appellant’s booking, blood was noted on his clothing and person. The stains were consistent with the victim’s blood, but not with appellant’s. He was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Chayra planned to terminate her relationship with appellant on the night she was killed because she feared he might be dealing cocaine. Appellant, who used and sold cocaine, had become increasingly paranoid in the months…