People v. Pettit CA5

FACTS

Prosecution Evidence In the early morning of August 8, 2013, the fire department was called to investigate a house fire at the Pettit residence, where David Scott Pettit and Janet Pettit lived with appellant, their adult son.2 Scott and Janet were found dead inside their bedroom. It was determined Scott had suffered a total of five gunshot wounds and died from gunshot wounds to the head, chin, chest and right elbow. Janet had suffered a total of two gunshot wounds and died from gunshot wounds to the head and left thigh. Both died before the fire was set. The fire investigator opined based on the department’s investigation that the fire had been intentionally set by an ignitable liquid. Appellant was not home at the time of the incident because he was out of town at work as a security guard. Police notified appellant of his parents’ deaths that morning. The next day, they conducted an interview with him to gather background information about the family and determine possible motives of anyone who might want to hurt his parents. Appellant gave police contact information for his friends. As for possible theories of what

To avoid confusion, we will be referring to David…