The Court of Appeal reverses defendant’s convictions for first degree murder of defendant’s girlfriend and second degree murder of her brother. The Court concludes that the trial court erred by excluding, under EC 352 on the prosecution’s objection, a handwritten note found at the crime scene which read: “I found her having sex with her own brother and that fills me with rage.  I’m asking for forgiveness.  I don’t know whether God will do it.” The Court finds that had the trial court admitted the note and not required Tzul to testify to get the note into evidence, it is reasonably probable the defendant would not have been convicted of murder.

The full opinion is available on the court’s website here: https://www4.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/B343256M.PDF