People v. Perez
Supreme Court of California
831 P.2d 1159 (1992)
Relevant factsFree
Perez (defendant) parked away from the home of Victoria Mesa, an old high school acquaintance, entered surreptitiously, beat her, stabbed her repeatedly with a kitchen knife, and, after that knife broke, retrieved a second knife to continue the attack. Mesa died. Perez was convicted of first-degree, willful, deliberate, and premeditated murder, but the court of appeal reduced the conviction to second degree. The prosecution challenged that reduction.
IssueFree
Whether combined evidence of planning activity, motive, and manner of killing supports a finding of first-degree murder, even where no single category of evidence would independently prove premeditation and deliberation.