California v. Drew
Annotate this CaseAppellant Charles Drew sexually assaulted Amber Oceja while she was in a diabetic coma, and within two hours of the assault, Oceja died from diabetic ketoacidosis. The experts all agreed that since Oceja was already unconscious when the sex crimes occurred, they did not materially contribute to her death. However, appellant did not just sexually assault Oceja while she was unconscious, he failed to seek medical assistance for her knowing she was in dire physical condition. The Court of Appeal held there was a sufficient causal relationship between that fatal omission and appellant’s sex crimes to support his conviction for first degree felony murder. The Court also upheld the jury’s true finding on the felony murder special circumstance allegations: appellant contended that finding had to be reversed for lack of evidence he killed Oceja to advance his sex crimes. The Court held such evidence was not required to warrant a true finding on that allegation.
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