People v. Anderson

Facts

Defendant and a group of other campers believed that another camper, Margaret Armstrong,  had molested two girls residing in a camping area near Eureka. The defendant and the group confronted Armstrong and dragged her to a nearby field where they beat her, duct taped her mouth and tied her naked to a bush. Later, defendant and Ron Kiern, the father of one of the girls, were in Kiern’s car when they saw Armstrong going down a street away from the campsite. They grabbed Armstrong and forced her into the car. They then put her in a sleeping bag, wrapped it in duct tape, and placed Armstrong in the trunk of the car. Kiern and witnesses testified that the defendant picked up a large rock and brought it to the trunk and Kiern hit Armstrong with the rock. Defendant then dropped a small boulder onto her head, picked up the rock, and handed it to Kiern telling him to drop it on Armstrong or something would happen to his family. After killing Armstrong, Kiern and the defendant disposed of her body by rolling it down a ravine. The defendant testified that it was Kiern who directed him to find a large rock, that Kiern threatened to beat him up if he did not comply, and that Kiern had hit Armstrong over the head with the rock multiple times. Kiern plead guilty to second degree murder.