People v. White CA4/3
Court
California Court of Appeal
Decided
June 20, 2025
Jurisdiction
SA
Importance
43%
Practice Areas
Case Summary
Filed 6/20/25 P. v. White CA4/3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115. IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION THREE THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, G062632 v. (Super. Ct. No. 17NF1416) SETH ALLEN WHITE, OPINION Defendant and Appellant. Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, Andre Manssourian, Judge. Affirmed. Justin Andrew Behravesh, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland, Assistant Attorney General, Christopher P. Beesley, Michael J. Patty and Sahar Karimi, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. * * * A homicide that would otherwise be murder may be reduced to voluntary manslaughter if the defendant killed “upon a sudden quarrel or 1 heat of passion.” (Pen. Code, § 192, subd. (a).) Defendant Seth Allen White repeatedly hit his mother in the head with a baseball bat following an argument. She was rendered unconscious and died about a year later from catastrophic brain injuries. The People charged White with murder. At a jury trial, White testified that he hit his mother after she told him, “‘You are just like your father.’” The trial court instructed the jury on voluntary manslaughter as a lesser included offense of murder. The jury found White guilty of murder in the second degree. White argues there is insufficient evidence to support his murder conviction because no reasonable juror could have rejected his voluntary manslaughter defense. We disagree and affirm the judgment. I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND In December 2016, White turned 18 years old and lived with his mother (Mother) and his older sister (Sister) in an Anaheim mobile home park. White’s father (Father) had divorced Mother when he was about four years old, and there had been a lengthy and contentious court battle between them regarding White’s custody. On May 9, 2017, White sent a Facebook message to a friend stating, “I’m tired, but still really pissed and kind of want to start a mother murder epidemic like in the news today.” At some point, White told another 1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. 2 friend that he hated Mother and Sister, and he felt like a “house b*tch” because he was made to clean the house. White also told this friend that he wanted to kill Mother, but the friend felt White was just “venting.” On the evening of May 23, 2017, White was arguing with Mother and Sister. The argument had to do with White’s failure to clean his room. At about 8:00 p.m., Sister left and went to a restaurant because: “I needed to get out of there. There was a lot of tension.” At 8:45 p.m., a neighbor called 911, and reported that a female was “screaming” within the White’s home. The female was yelling, “‘Help me. Help me.’” The caller said that “the house was shaking like someone was getting beaten up or pushed around.” The neighbor’s son approached the home and heard three to five thumping noises and a heavy weight dropping to the floor. During the course of the 911 call, White closed all the windows and doors. White made a two-second video on his phone of Mother lying unconscious on the floor in a pool of blood as he stated, “Sleepy time, she comes.” White left the home carrying a baseball bat and unsuccessfully tried to start Mother’s van. White then walked to a nearby riverbed where he called a friend and said that he had “killed his mom.” White called 911 stating he had “just committed an act of assault, possible . . . manslaughter.” White said he hit Mother “a lot of times with the bat and I don’t know if she’s alive but she was like asleep when I left.” Police Investigation When officers arrived at the White’s home, they forced entry into the locked trailer and found Mother lying face up near the front door in a large pool of blood. She was gurgling blood, gasping for air, and was 3 unconscious
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Status
Decided
Date Decided
June 20, 2025
Jurisdiction
SA
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federal
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Filed 6/20/25 P. v. White CA4/3
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS
California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION THREE
THE PEOPLE,
Plaintiff and Respondent, G062632
v. (Super. Ct. No. 17NF1416)
SETH ALLEN WHITE, OPINION
Defendant and Appellant.
Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County,
Andre Manssourian, Judge. Affirmed. Justin Andrew Behravesh, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland, Assistant Attorney General, Christopher P. Beesley, Michael J. Patty and Sahar Karimi, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. * * * A homicide that would otherwise be murder may be reduced to voluntary manslaughter if the defendant killed “upon a sudden quarrel or 1 heat of passion.” (Pen. Code, § 192, subd. (a).) Defendant Seth Allen White repeatedly hit his mother in the head with a baseball bat following an argument. She was rendered unconscious and died about a year later from catastrophic brain injuries. The People charged White with murder. At a jury trial, White testified that he hit his mother after she told him, “‘You are just like your father.’” The trial court instructed the jury on voluntary manslaughter as a lesser included offense of murder. The jury found White guilty of murder in the second degree. White argues there is insufficient evidence to support his murder conviction because no reasonable juror could have rejected his voluntary manslaughter defense. We disagree and affirm the judgment.
I.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
In December 2016, White turned 18 years old and lived with his
mother (Mother) and his older sister (Sister) in an Anaheim mobile home park. White’s father (Father) had divorced Mother when he was about four years old, and there had been a lengthy and contentious court battle between them regarding White’s custody. On May 9, 2017, White sent a Facebook message to a friend stating, “I’m tired, but still really pissed and kind of want to start a mother murder epidemic like in the news today.” At some point, White told another
1
Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.
2
friend that he hated Mother and Sister, and he felt like a “house b*tch” because he was made to clean the house. White also told this friend that he wanted to kill Mother, but the friend felt White was just “venting.” On the evening of May 23, 2017, White was arguing with Mother and Sister. The argument had to do with White’s failure to clean his room. At about 8:00 p.m., Sister left and went to a restaurant because: “I needed to get out of there. There was a lot of tension.” At 8:45 p.m., a neighbor called 911, and reported that a female was “screaming” within the White’s home. The female was yelling, “‘Help me. Help me.’” The caller said that “the house was shaking like someone was getting beaten up or pushed around.” The neighbor’s son approached the home and heard three to five thumping noises and a heavy weight dropping to the floor. During the course of the 911 call, White closed all the windows and doors. White made a two-second video on his phone of Mother lying unconscious on the floor in a pool of blood as he stated, “Sleepy time, she comes.” White left the home carrying a baseball bat and unsuccessfully tried to start Mother’s van. White then walked to a nearby riverbed where he called a friend and said that he had “killed his mom.” White called 911 stating he had “just committed an act of assault, possible . . . manslaughter.” White said he hit Mother “a lot of times with the bat and I don’t know if she’s alive but she was like asleep when I left.”
Police Investigation When officers arrived at the White’s home, they forced entry into the locked trailer and found Mother lying face up near the front door in a large pool of blood. She was gurgling blood, gasping for air, and was
3
unconscious
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Case Details
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Status
Decided
Date Decided
June 20, 2025
Jurisdiction
SA
Court Type
federal
Legal Significance
Case importance metrics
Metadata
Additional information
Quick Actions
Case management tools