## Facts

- Eddie Alfonso Brown and Bridget Colmore had been romantic partners; Colmore was described as Brown’s former girlfriend.
- Colmore disappeared after being last seen entering Brown’s apartment on September 11, 2001.
- About a month later, Colmore’s body was found buried in a cornfield.
- Brown told his half-sister he strangled Colmore, claiming he acted in self-defense after she attacked him with a hammer.
- At trial, Brown testified that Colmore attacked him with a hammer but asserted she died accidentally when he pushed her away and she flipped over a couch.
- The prosecution sought to introduce evidence of Brown’s prior domestic-violence acts against Colmore and four other former girlfriends.
- The trial court admitted the prior-acts evidence under Evidence Code § 1109(a), subject to Evidence Code § 352.

## Issues

1. Whether first-degree murder of a former intimate partner qualifies as an “offense involving domestic violence” under Evidence Code § 1109, permitting admission of prior domestic-violence acts.
2. Whether the trial court abused its discretion under Evidence Code § 352 by admitting multiple prior domestic-violence incidents as more probative than prejudicial.

## Decision

- The Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment.
- The court held that the charged murder, committed against a former intimate partner in a domestic-relationship context, constituted an “offense involving domestic violence” for Evidence Code § 1109 purposes.
- The court upheld the trial court’s Evidence Code § 352 ruling admitting prior domestic-violence evidence against the victim and four former girlfriends.
- The court accepted the trial court’s characterization that, on these facts, murder may be treated as the ultimate form of domestic violence.

## Legal Principles

- Evidence Code § 1109 permits admission of a defendant’s other domestic-violence acts in a criminal action involving domestic violence, notwithstanding Evidence Code § 1101’s general bar on propensity evidence, if the evidence is not inadmissible under Evidence Code § 352.
- “Offense involving domestic violence” under Evidence Code § 1109 may include homicide committed against a current or former intimate partner when the charged conduct arises from a domestic-relationship setting.
- Under Evidence Code § 352, a trial court may admit prior domestic-violence acts when their probative value (including relevance to intent and evaluation of the defense account) is not substantially outweighed by the risk of undue prejudice, confusion, or time consumption.
- Appellate review of a § 352 ruling is deferential; no abuse of discretion occurs where the record shows the trial court considered and weighed probative value against unfair prejudice and reasonably limited presentation.

## Conclusion

The court affirmed Brown’s murder conviction, holding that intimate-partner murder can qualify as an “offense involving domestic violence” under Evidence Code § 1109 and that the trial court acted within its discretion in admitting evidence of Brown’s prior domestic-violence acts under § 352.


People v. Brown, 192 Cal. App. 4th 1222, 121 Cal. Rptr. 3d 828 (Ct. App. 5th Dist. 2011)