People v. Steger

Opinion

MOSK, J.

Defendant Cheryl Lynn Steger appeals from a judgment convicting her of the first degree murder of her three-year-old stepdaughter Kristen. She-contends, inter alia, that the evidence at her trial was insufficient to justify a jury instruction on murder by means of torture. The contention is meritorious.

Kristen died from head injuries. Viewed in the light most favorable to the People, the evidence discloses the fatal injury, a subdural hemorrhage covering almost the entire left half of the brain, was undoubtedly caused by trauma. The child’s body was also covered from head to…