A state appeals court panel Monday affirmed the murder convictions of a 32-year-old man who tried to blame reality television personality Kylie Jenner for his killing spree.
Marvin Magallanes was sentenced in September 2022 to life in prison without the possibility of parole for two counts of first-degree murder and a count of second-degree murder, with special-circumstance allegations of multiple murders. Orange County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Menning sentenced Magallanes to consecutive life without parole terms, plus 17 years to life in prison.
Magallanes was convicted of second-degree murder for the July 3, 2017, killing of 27-year-od cellmate Danny Pham, who was just about to be released from jail on a joyriding conviction.
Magallanes was also convicted of the stabbing deaths of 52-year-old Onosai Tavita and 49-year-old Sabah Alsaad.
Tavita was killed about 2 a.m. Oct. 27, 2016, at 990 S. Euclid St. He was sleeping behind a restaurant when he was attacked. Alsaad was sleeping on a bus bench at 1200 S. Magnolia St. about 2:15 a.m. Jan. 27, 2017, when he was stabbed to death.
The defendant’s appeal centered on a claim that Menninger should have suspended criminal proceedings to allow for another evaluation if he was competent to stand trial based on claims from his attorney and his “own actions in the months leading up to, and during, trial,” according to the Fourth District Court of Appeals opinion.
The appeal also focused on Menninger’s requirement that the defendant enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity personally despite her prior determination he was not competent to represent himself
The justices, however, found that Menninger made no errors.
The judge “had no obligation to hold additional competency proceedings because after the court’s competency determination, there was no substantial change of circumstances or new evidence casting a serious doubt on the validity of the prior finding,” the justices found.
The justices also found there was well settled law that requires the insanity plea be entered by the defendant and cannot be done so by just his attorney even if the defendant wants that.
Shortly after Magallanes was charged in 2017 a doubt was raised about his mental competency and in May 2018 he was found incompetent to stand trial. He was hospitalized in a state facility and in mid-2020 he was found to have had his competency restored and he was also charged with killing Pham.
“Over the course of the next year and a half, the status of the criminal proceedings fluctuated,” the justices wrote.
One expert — Dr. Martha Rogers — testified “she believed defendant suffers from schizophrenia, but he denies having any of the symptoms associated with such diagnosis,” the justices wrote.
Rogers found he was competent, however, to assist in his defense and his trial was back on track with Magallanes winning the right to defend himself without an attorney. But within a month that status was revoked when he refused to attend his arraignment.
“The two attorneys representing defendant expressed doubt as to his competency to stand trial, with one indicating defendant said `the real murderer was Kylie Jenner’ and “he is only being prosecuted because the Kardashian family insists upon it,” the justices wrote. His criminal proceedings were held up again and he was again evaluated by doctors.
Another expert — Dr. David Walsh — also testified he believed Magallanes had schizophrenia and could not help in his defense, but later he said medication had helped put the disorder in remission and could stand trial.
“Defendant’s counsel described defendant’s belief he had an ongoing relationship with Kylie Jenner and that he was being prosecuted because of the Kardashians, even though he was innocent,” the justices wrote. “He conveyed that such thoughts, combed with other behavior, made it impossible for defendant to assist his attorneys.”
Menninger concluded Magallanes was competent to stand trial and he asked to defend himself, but was denied his requests to fire his attorney, which he had done previously “numerous times,” the justices wrote.
Between February and August 2022, Magallanes’ attorney again declared doubts about the defendant’s competency as he requested three more hearings to dismiss his attorneys, but denied to suspend proceedings or let Magallanes dismiss his attorney.
The justices noted that Menninger found Magallanes competent to stand trial in February 2022 and considered reports from two court-appointed doctors as well as testimony from the defendant’s mother and one of his attorneys.
“Although defense counsel twice raised a doubt about defendant’s competence in the ensuing six months, including statements that defendant was incapable of cooperating in his defense, this alone was not enough to require a new competency hearing,” the justices wrote.
“We have methodically reviewed the entire record, including all sealed portions, to understand all the various circumstances the trial court had before ti when it made its determinations between February and August 2022 that no additional competency hearing needed to be held. Defendant failed to show a substantial change of circumstances or new evidence casting a serious doubt on the court’s prior finding.”
At sentencing, Menninger noted that Magallanes had the option of pursing a sanity defense that could have led to a commitment to a state mental health facility instead of prison, but that he refused.
Magallanes drove to Jenner’s home on March 28, 2016, and April 13, 2016, and told security guards he was there to see the young model and reality television star. When he was denied entry, he tried to drive through the wood security gate arm, cracking it.
Magallanes pleaded no contest to misdemeanor vandalism on Oct. 26, 2016, and was sentenced to 10 days in county jail and placed on summary probation for a year, according to a spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Some experts said in court papers that Magallanes experienced auditory hallucinations.
A jail guard described the defendant as a “split personality,” with other family members describing the same phenomena with sudden mood changes and erratic behavior, according to court records. He believed he was communicating online with Jenner, although family members tried to alert him it was not real.
His family told psychiatric experts that his issues began when he split up with his girlfriend from high school, who was the mother of his child.
Magallanes told police that when he was driving home one morning he spotted Alsaad sleeping on a bus bench, so he continued home to retrieve a kitchen knife, then drove back to that spot and attacked the victim, Deputy District Attorney Chris Alex said in court papers. Magallanes returned home, tossed the sweater he was wearing away and took a shower, Alex said.
Magallanes encountered Tavita in much the same way as he drove around for hours before seeing the victim and attacking him, Alex said. The victim sustained 11 stab wounds, four of them considered fatal.
According to a 2019 report from psychologist Michelle Vorwerk, the jail guard said Magallanes had an “alternative personality” of “Jimmy,” who had a “1,000-yard stare.”
Magallanes would ram his head at the wall of his cell for no apparent reason, according to the report.
As a child, Magallanes was “a normal and nice kid,” who was respectful, his mother told the psychologist.
After his relationship with his girlfriend fell apart his mental health issues worsened and he began abusing alcohol, marijuana and Xanax, his family told the psychologist. While in custody he would refuse to eat, claiming he was being poisoned, according to the report.