Opinion ID: 1122547
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Admission of photographs and physical evidence

Text: Over the objections of defense counsel, the trial court admitted into evidence a photograph depicting the victims' bodies shortly after they were unearthed, a photograph depicting a superficial depression of Maureen Bautista's sternum, which Dr. Karl Kirschner opined was the result of a knife wound, four small tissue samples taken from the victims, and Maureen Bautista's jawbone, demonstrating a penetrating stab wound. The prosecution offered the foregoing evidence to establish the identity of the victims, to corroborate the prosecution's expert testimony (that the victims had been killed in Patricia Shepard's apartment), and to establish that defendant had acted with malice. In an effort to preclude admission of the challenged evidence, defense counsel offered to stipulate that Larry Tom Whittington assisted in placing the bodies in the dresser, that Maureen Bautista's death was caused by a blow of considerable force, that the jawbone had comprised part of her anatomy, and that the bodies unearthed were those of Maureen and Telesforo Bautista. After the prosecution rejected the stipulation, the trial court admitted the challenged evidence. (19a) On appeal, defendant challenges the trial court's rulings on three grounds: (1) the evidence was irrelevant; (2) even if relevant, the probative value of the evidence was outweighed by its prejudicial effect, and therefore the evidence should have been excluded under Evidence Code section 352; and (3) the trial court, in exercising its discretion under Evidence Code section 352, failed to engage in a meaningful weighing of probative value against prejudice. (20a) Defendant implicitly contends that the trial court should have required the prosecution to accept the proffered stipulation. (19b) The challenged evidence clearly was supportive of the prosecution's theory that the victims had been brutally murdered. (See People v. Wilson (1992) 3 Cal.4th 926, 937-938 [13 Cal. Rptr.2d 259, 838 P.2d 1212] [photos of murder victim depicting nature and placement of wounds relevant to prosecution's theory of deliberate killing].) Because the prosecution tried the present case on a theory of premeditated murder, the issue of malice was material, and the photographs and the jawbone were relevant to that issue. (See People v. Hendricks (1987) 43 Cal.3d 584, 594 [238 Cal. Rptr. 66, 737 P.2d 1350]; People v. Frierson (1979) 25 Cal.3d 142, 171 [158 Cal. Rptr. 281, 599 P.2d 587]; 2 Witkin, Cal. Evidence (3d ed. 1986) Demonstrative, Experimental and Scientific Evidence, § 837, pp. 801-804.) The tissue samples (extracted from the remains of the exhumed dresser, in which carpet fibers were found consistent with those found in Patricia Shepard's apartment) indicated the probability that the victims had bled in Patricia Shepard's apartment, and therefore were relevant to the prosecution's theory that the killings were deliberate, and that defendant attempted to conceal the crimes by transporting the bodies from the Bakersfield crime scene to the town of Shandon, where the victims surreptitiously were buried. The evidence in question also was highly probative. The photograph of the mummified victims depicted their positions within the dresser (after the dresser had been unearthed and removed), thereby corroborating Whittington's testimony relating to concealment of the bodies. The photograph illustrating the superficial wound to Maureen Bautista's sternum was offered to establish that defendant employed different degrees of force during the fatal attack, and because the use of force was relevant to the question of malice, the trial court acted within its discretion in determining that the probative value of the photographs clearly outweighed any prejudice that might have been incurred by defendant as a result of their graphic nature. (See People v. Thompson, supra, 45 Cal.3d at p. 115-116 [no error in admitting photographs of victim's head and ear, through which fatal stab wound was inflicted]; People v. Ruiz (1988) 44 Cal.3d 589, 612-613 [244 Cal. Rptr. 200, 749 P.2d 854] [no error in admitting mummy-like photos of victims].) Introduced as laboratory specimens contained in small jars, the tissue samples were not readily identifiable as human tissue and, as noted, tended to support the prosecution's theory, supported by expert testimony, that the victims were killed in Patricia Shepard's apartment, then transported to Shandon. The appearance of Maureen Bautista's jawbone indicated that her assailant had stabbed her with sufficient force to enable the weapon to penetrate completely through the bone, strongly suggesting that the perpetrator acted with malice. We previously have upheld the admission of body parts over a defense objection similar to that raised in the present case, where the physical evidence is offered in corroboration of expert testimony (and where, presumably, photographs instead could have been utilized). The potentially shocking nature of such physical evidence is not, in itself, a basis for exclusion. (See People v. Thomas (1992) 2 Cal.4th 489, 524 [7 Cal. Rptr.2d 199, 828 P.2d 101] [admission of teeth and bone fragments].) Defendant contends the trial court failed to engage in a meaningful weighing process and, instead, mechanically recited that the probative value exceeded the prejudicial effect as to the various exhibits that the defense sought to exclude. With respect to each item of physical evidence challenged on appeal, however, the trial court heard arguments from both sides regarding relevance and prejudice before articulating that the probative value of the challenged evidence outweighed any prejudicial effect. The record indicates that the trial court understood and fulfilled its responsibilities under Evidence Code section 352. Nothing more was required. (See People v. Clair, supra, 2 Cal.4th at p. 660; People v. Griffin (1988) 46 Cal.3d 1011, 1027-1029 [251 Cal. Rptr. 643, 761 P.2d 103].) (20b) With respect to defense counsel's offer at trial, in an effort to have the actual evidence excluded, to stipulate to certain facts suggested by the challenged evidence, we reiterate the general rule that the prosecution in a criminal case cannot be compelled to accept a stipulation if the effect would be to deprive the state's case of its persuasiveness and forcefulness. ( People v. Edelbacher, supra, 47 Cal.3d at p. 1007, and cases cited.) The probative value of the challenged photographs, jawbone, and tissue samples (exhibits that we have reviewed) clearly extended beyond the scope of the defense's offers to stipulate. The prosecution therefore was not obligated to present its case in the sanitized fashion suggested by the defense. (See People v. Pride (1992) 3 Cal.4th 195, 243 [10 Cal. Rptr.2d 636, 833 P.2d 643].) (19c) Based upon the foregoing, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the challenged physical evidence. ( People v. Thomas, supra, 2 Cal.4th at p. 524; People v. Price, supra, 1 Cal. 4th at p. 441; People v. Ashmus (1991) 54 Cal.3d 932, 973-974 [2 Cal. Rptr.2d 112, 820 P.2d 214].)