People v. Whitehorn

Norman Whitehorn and Charles Hummel were charged with the murder of Mrs. Angela Gums. White-horn admitted a prior conviction of kidnaping and rape. The jury found both defendants guilty of first degree murder and determined that Whitehorn should suffer the death penalty and Hummel life imprisonment. Whitehorn’s motion for a new trial was denied, and his appeal is before us automatically under subdivision (b) of section 1239 of the Penal Code. Hummel has not appealed.

Mrs. Gums’ death was due to strangulation, and there were a number of scratches on her body, some of which in the opinion of the…