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Criminal Law Keyed to Gershowitz
Keeler v. Superior Court
Citation:
2 Cal.3d 619, 87 Cal.Rptr. 481, 470 P.2d 617
ProfessorScott Caron
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
Defendant (Keeler) and Teresa Keeler “obtained an interlocutory decree of divorce on September 27, 1968” after 16 years of marriage. Teresa Keeler was pregnant at that time with Ernest Vogt’s baby and subsequently began living with him. She did not inform the defendant. The defendant gained custody of his two daughters who were 12 and 13. The defendant learned about the pregnancy and confronted Teresa Keeler about it. He pushed Teresa against her car, kneed her in the stomach, and punched her in the face several times causing her to faint. Teresa Keeler sought medical attention. A Caesarian section was performed. The head of the fetus was fractured and was delivered stillborn. The evidence suggests that if the fetus would have been born on the day of the attack it had a 75-96% chance of survival. The defendant was charged with murder.
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