People v. Murtishaw

Opinion

TOBRINER, J.

On April 9, 1978, defendant and Gregory Lufenberger, his brother-in-law, went shooting in the Mojave Desert. They chanced upon four college students who were filming a movie. Several hours later, as the students prepared to leave, defendant began to fire at them, killing three of the students and injuring the fourth.

Defendant admitted the shooting but claimed diminished capacity. The jury rejected the defense and found him guilty of three counts of first degree murder, and one count of assault with intent to commit murder. The jury found the special circumstance of multiple…