People v. Sears
Supreme Court of California
401 P.2d 938 (1965)
Relevant factsFree
Earl Sears (defendant), estranged from his wife Clara, broke into her home at night armed with a steel pipe and beat her. When Clara's young daughter Elizabeth intervened, Sears knocked Clara unconscious; Clara's mother and brother-in-law arrived, and Elizabeth was ultimately found dead of a knife wound, with Clara and her mother also badly injured. Sears was convicted of two counts of attempted murder and the first-degree felony murder of Elizabeth, based on the underlying felony of mayhem, and was sentenced to death, triggering an automatic appeal.
IssueFree
Whether a felony-murder charge can be established without proof that the defendant had the specific intent to commit the underlying felony.