People v. Edgar CA2/2

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. Facts

On October 16, 2018, defendant repeatedly struck Angela Gatewood (Gatewood) in the head with a claw hammer, killing her. A. Events leading up to the killing Defendant and Gatewood met years earlier, as defendant was the prison cellmate of Gatewood’s adult son. Defendant and Gatewood dated on and off for years. Throughout this entire time, defendant regularly used methamphetamines. In May 2018, following his most recent release from prison, defendant moved in with Gatewood. Over the next several months, defendant’s drug use “really escalated,” and his earlier suspicions that Gatewood was cheating on him grew more

1 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated.

2 impassioned and delusional. Specifically, defendant suspected that Gatewood was hosting orgies in their apartment, filming the sex acts using their smart TV as a camera, and uploading the resulting videos onto a “hidden” YouTube website and also a “Cheating Wife” website. Defendant’s suspicions were based on the fact that Gatewood kept lint rollers in the house, that he once saw a handprint on the coffee table “way bigger” than his,…