Ronald Dennis Wolff was the 15-year-old son of Mr. & Mrs. Wolff, living in Glendale California, attending Glendale High School. His grades for the year at the time of the incident were 3 As and 2 Bs, and he was active in the school band. I am not sure of the date, but around 1962 or 1963, he was just learning about sex, so he developed a list of neighbor girls he wanted to either rape or at least photograph, one or the other.
So, pursuant to his plan, he acquired a bottle of ether, went to the first girl’s house located near his home, climbed up the roof and tried to enter the young girl’s residence by climbing down the chimney with some ether but fortunately got stuck. His plan was cut short.
Now his parents were concerned, so they took him to their family doctor who diagnosed the conduct as just “teenager antics” and not to worry. The family doctor could not have been more wrong.
Ronald realized that a plan to enter the selected girl’s home would not work and believed the best way to accomplish his plan to rape or photograph the selected girl would be to use ether, knock her out and get her to his home so he could accomplish his plan.
Well, he knew to do the deed, he would have to eliminate anyone that would thwart his plan, that is, his mother, an aunt if she was around, and his brother. So, he obtained an axe handle, hid it under his pillow and waited for a time everyone was out of his house except his mother.
So, the next morning when only his mother was present, he ate his breakfast his mother had prepared, went up to his room, retrieved the axe handle and stalked his mother, but decided the situation was not right, so back to his room he goes, and hides the weapon under his pillow not to be used that day. The following morning, he retrieved the axe handle again, went down to the kitchen where his mother was located, approached her from the rear, and smashed the axe handle on the back of her head. His Mom did not lose consciousness, started to run, followed by Ronald, who caught her, put her on the ground and strangled her to death. (for a complete fact summary, Google and read People v. Wolff 61 Cal 2nd 715 after reading this blog.)
After the killing, Ronald cleaned the blood off his clothes, went directly to the Glendale Police Station, and reported to officers he did something bad, “I killed my mother,” he said.
Sometimes as a prosecutor, I wonder what some of the defense lawyers were thinking.
Ronald was arrested, and due to his age at the time, he was ensconced in Juvenile Hall. Rather than treating him as an adult, I believe he could have been found presently insane due to his diagnosed mental illness, schizophrenia, put in a mental facility, receive treatment and never have to face a criminal court, and probably would never regain sanity in the medical sense.
His lawyer wanted him not to have to face future criminal charges, I surmise, so he convinced the juvenile judge to transfer the matter to adult court and that is where I come in to the picture.
After a preliminary hearing to test sufficiency of evidence to warrant a trial the case was then sent to Department 101 presided over by Judge Herbert Walker and that was my court as well, so it’s now my case to prosecute.
(Judge Walker was a gruff old no-nonsense old school type of judge. He is best known as the presiding trial judge in the case of Sirhan Sirhan, the assassin who murdered Robert Kennedy at the Ambassador hotel in Los Angeles and is still languishing in prison. An interesting sidelight is Evelle Younger was the elected DA at the time, and, for some reason, the State Department did not want the case to go to trial and the DA offered Sirhan life in prison for the cold-blooded murder. At the time on a Capital Case, the judge had to agree with the disposition, and Judge Walker turned down the offer on the belief the American Public had a right to know all the facts to avoid some type of conspiracy theories that resulted from President John Kennedy’s murder in Dallas, Texas. I had left the DA’s Office at the time, I think the trial was either 1965 or 1966. I did get a call from Judge Walker regarding an anticipated agreement between the prosecution and defense to allow what is known as truth serum, Sodium Pentothal, and he was concerned about the danger of the drug and had been authorized by the Court to hire me, based on my many cases involving psychiatry and the law, to examine and report if there was a substantial risk in the administration of the drug and could Sirhan be killed by the drug. Needless to say I was excited to be involved in a case involving the former Attorney General Nominee for President of the United States and brother of the then-sitting president. But shortly after the approval, both sides withdrew their stipulation and my 15 minutes of fame never came to pass.)
Back to Ronald Wolff. Well, the defense never entered a plea of not guilty but only one plea, “Not Guilty by reason of Insanity to the charge of Murder.” With a single plea, that type of plea in effect admits the murder and the only issue is whether the accused was sane or insane at the time of the act. The Defendant has the burden of proof of insanity to overcome the legal presumption of Sanity. The standard is based on a very old case called the “McNaughton Rule,” Did the defendant know the difference between right and wrong (knows it’s wrong but just doesn’t care) and, two: could the defendant appreciate the character and quality of his act? That’s it. One could be very mentally ill, but even with the illness, could the defendant be capable of knowing right from wrong and was the defendant capable of appreciating the character and quality of his act. Capability is the key word. Let’s get back to the case.
OK I was able to observe the defendant in court, and it was clear to me, Ronald was not all there. The defense attorney, for whatever reason, did not, as I thought he should, ask the Court to create a doubt as to his present sanity. The rule is: can the defendant, if he wants to, cooperate with his defense attorney, and/or does the defendant appreciate what is happening to him, the charges, defenses, sentences etc. Well, I thought if the defense counsel won’t do it, I will and I asked the Court to declare a doubt as to Ronald’s present sanity and if found presently insane, then to send him to a mental institution until recovered, and, in my opinion, he would probably never come back, as he had been diagnosed basically as a schizophrenic Juvenile, undifferentiated type. So, I asked the defense lawyer for summation reports and I would agree that he should go to a hospital. No such luck. Defense asked for a hearing, and for the first time in my career, it was the prosecution who asked for a finding of present insanity and the defense that opposed. Evidence was put on Pychs testified and to my astonishment the judge found Ronald presently sane. So, now I am getting worried. The last thing I wanted was to have Ronald found sane and eventually walking the streets again, a pretty big danger to society.
Well of we go to trial, psychs called by the defense and their testimony washed out each other. One said he met both McNaughton tests, another said he did not meet either test, a third said he could appreciate the character and quality of his act but not right from wrong, and the fourth said he could not appreciate the character and quality, but could distinguish right from wrong. So the jury is left with what did he do, what did he say, how did he plan, and the bottom line is, probably the jury was not going to let him get off for killing his mother and just walk on the streets again They found him sane which is the last thing the defense attorney wanted.
Now with a single plea and finding of Sane the judge, never having this situation, wanted to know about who finds the degree of the murder. Judge, I tell him, you do. Is there authority for that, and I reply “yes.” Judge says show me the authority, and I say Judge trust me. Judge insists on authority, and I say OK, it’s People vs. “Machine Gun” Walker, the Judge’s nephew who, as a Korean War Vet, went bonkers, barricaded himself and started shooting people. The Judge wasn’t happy being reminded that Machine Gun Walker was his nephew. So, we agreed the judge could decide degree- either 1st or 2nd on the trial evidence and the psych reports and he found Ronald Guilty of 1st degree which is 25 to life in the prison system with the recommendation he be incarcerated in a State Prison Medical facility for the criminally insane.
The story does not end with the sentence. The defense took the case on appeal all the way to the State Supreme Court where in a unanimous opinion written by the Chief Justice, affirmed the finding of Sanity but created a new rule that due to his age and mental condition he could not maturely and meaningfully appreciate his contemplated act and coldly deliberate and premeditate its conclusion. Thus the case was reduced to murder 2nd from 1st. Did not make sense to me based upon the preparations, plus it takes a while to strangle a person to death. But, no harm no foul, as the difference is negligible for parole in a 1st case after 25 years and 2nd after 17 years, but both carry a top of life in prison.
The bottom line is Ronald could have been treated as a juvenile offender, and if not, then he could have been declared presently insane and never been convicted of anything and spend his remaining years in a non-criminally insane facility.
I have always regretted having to go the criminal route in that case, but was basically forced by defense tactics to get a result that was necessary but not gratifying.
I urge the reader to read the written opinion for a good dissertation on mental defects and the law.
Marshall
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