People v. Whisenhunt

Opinion

CHIN, J.

On October 10, 1995, 19-month-old Kesha Gurke died of severe internal injuries and third degree bum wounds she received in the home where she lived with her mother, Jeanette Hill, and her mother’s boyfriend, defendant Michael McCrea Whisenhunt. On August 22, 1996, a San Luis Obispo County jury found defendant guilty of first degree murder and found true the special circumstance that the murder was intentional and involved the infliction of torture. (Pen. Code, §§ 187, 189, 190.2, subd. (a)(18).) After the penalty phase, the jury returned a verdict of death. The trial court…