People v. Smith

Opinion

FRIEDMAN, J.

On the night of July 12, 1971, an unknown assailant entered the Dog Bar campground, located on the Bear River in Nevada County. He entered the tent of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Garbe, attacked them, pursued them outside, then attacked other campers, hacking and stabbing with a curved knife which witnesses compared to a sickle. When the episode had run its course, two campers were seriously wounded and two were dead. The assailant disappeared.

Ultimately, defendant Clarence Otis Smith was identified as the attacker. He lived approximately two miles from the Dog Bar campground by…