Opinion ID: 1316209
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Infliction of extreme pain on live victim

Text: Defendant observes that the pathologist, Dr. Bucklin, gave no opinion concerning the order in which the 37 knife wounds occurred, or the point during the attack at which Muck died. Thus, with respect to the five deep wounds to the torso identified as fatal, defendant suggests there is no proof they occurred last or that Muck was alive when any of the other 32 cuts were made. Defendant also notes that Dr. Bucklin did not describe the degree of pain experienced by Muck before he died. Based on these factors, defendant claims there was insufficient evidence that Muck's injuries would have caused extreme pain. We disagree. Testimony by Dr. Bucklin and Deputy Sheriff Kennedy indicated that Muck was sitting upright and was alive when his jugular vein was cut, causing blood to spurt onto surrounding surfaces. The jury could reasonably infer that the nonlethal jugular wound, and perhaps other knife blows mentioned by Kennedy, occurred in the first part of the violent episode, before Muck fell or was pushed into the prostrate position in which his body was ultimately found. According to Kennedy, it was only after Muck was lying on the ground that most of the fatal stab wounds  violent thrusts to the chest  were administered. Other evidence suggested that Muck was not only alive but also conscious when stabbed, at least during the first part of the attack. Evidence of a struggle was supplied by the fresh scratch marks that Strickler saw on defendant's back, and by arm cuts that Dr. Bucklin identified as potentially defensive in nature. The jury could infer that Muck  a fairly large and vigorous man  remained a threat to his attacker even after he was stabbed and started to bleed. In particular, bloodstains suggested that both wrists were grabbed, and that he was prevented from using his hands to deflect the knife. No restraint would have been necessary if Muck had perished at the start of the attack in the manner defendant now suggests. As urged by the prosecutor in closing argument, the eight unusual wounds on Muck's flank could also have been viewed as torturous by the jury. These cuts and punctures were uniformly shallow and grouped together in an area away from any vital organs. They also appear to have been inflicted with a knife other than the one used to fatally stab Muck in the torso during the latter part of the attack. The jury could conclude that the flank wounds were neither accidental nor lethal in nature, and that they were inflicted because the victim was alive, helpless, and capable of experiencing pain. (See People v. Barnett (1998) 17 Cal.4th 1044, 1076-1077, 1162, 74 Cal.Rptr.2d 121, 954 P.2d 384 [evidence of torturous acts supplied by numerous shallow cuts on the hip and thigh inflicted while the victim was alive and restrained].) The evidence supports a finding that the murder involved the infliction of extreme physical pain.