People v. Capela

On October 7, 2002, emergency personnel, responding to a telephone call to the 911 emergency number, went to the defendant’s apartment. In the defendant’s bedroom, they found the body of the defendant’s wife, which contained many stab wounds. A bloody knife was on the bed. The defendant, who was sitting on a chair in another room, was staring straight ahead at the open front door. He was the only other person in the apartment.

We reject the defendant’s contention that, under these circumstances, the police lacked probable cause to arrest him. Frobable cause does not require proof beyond a…