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Criminal Law Keyed to Weaver
People v. Portillo
Citation:
107 Cal. App. 4th 834, 132 Cal. Rptr. 2d 435 (2003)Facts
Portillo was in the Navy and talked about ordering an escort, raping her, and killing her to “relieve stress,” and then put her in the Navy issued seabag. None of the personnel reported this, as they thoughtPortillo was joking. Portillo lived off base with his wife. He brought his wife to work and then called an escort service and requested a girl and offered to pay cash. Nancy, who used the name “Monica” was the girl who was sent. Portillo told the service the wrong apartment number, which is where Nancy went, the owner said she was in the wrong place and Nancy heard shuffling coming from Portillo’s apartment. Nancy always called the service before she would begin her services to confirm payment, which also let the escort service know that she was safe, Nancy never called. Portillo also did not pick up his wife from work, she got a ride from a friend and got a key from the apartment manager to get into her apartment. When she opened the door she found Nancy in two seabags with blood on the floor. The police searched and found in the bag torn underwear, her pants zipper broken, and her sweater pulled up with her bra pulled down. An autopsy showed that she sustained blunt force trauma to her head and strangulation signs. Police found a bloody hammer nearby. Testing revealed that Nancy’s blood on Portillo’s shorts, on the carpet, and on the hammer. Testing also revealed Portillo’s DNA underneath Nancy’s fingernails and his sperm around her vagina and anus.
During the jury instruction the judge stated that the jury needed to find that Portillo committed the killing within the course of rape or sodomy. The jury asked for the definition of “within the course of” and the judge stated it was until the crime was complete, and this was when the perpetrator reached a place of temporary safety.
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