State v. Munoz

Munoz (defendant) and his wife Donna were married as teenagers a few months after Donna had run away from home. Donna told Munoz that she had run away because her stepfather, J.A. Hatfield, had attempted to molest her. Almost a decade later, Donna confessed to Munoz that in fact her stepfather, her uncle Ralph Hernandez, and her brother had all sexually abused her repeatedly for many years before she ran away. Donna was hysterical as she told Munoz about the abuse. Donna said that she had sought help from family members, including her mother Lila Hatfield, but they had refused to help her. Munoz was extremely upset. He took his rifle, drove to the Hatfields’ house, and woke Lila and J.A. up in their bedroom. Munoz confronted them about Donna’s allegations. J.A. denied everything, but Lila admitted that Donna had come to her for help, and she had refused. J.A. started to leave but Munoz told him to stop. J.A. walked toward Munoz, who loaded his rifle, and the men started yelling at each other. When J.A. walked out of the room, Munoz’s gun went off, killing J.A. As Munoz was leaving the Hatfields’ house, he ran over Lila with his pickup truck, severely injuring her. Munoz also later shot Hernandez in both legs and left him in a deserted area to die, although Hernandez survived. Munoz was convicted of the second-degree murder of J.A., the attempted second-degree murder of Lila, and the attempted first-degree murder of Hernandez. Munoz requested the trial court to instruct the jury on voluntary manslaughter for the murder of J.A. The court refused, finding that Munoz was not entitled to the instruction because the mitigating provocation came from Donna, not the victim. Munoz appealed.