I don't recall that JK suggested premeditation?
Hey, Tad, I dont want to steer this thread in another direction, but since the idea of premeditation was questioned, I thought Id add my two cents.
In my understanding of the True Bills, premeditation is inherent in the accessory after the fact charge. Its intertwined in the definition of first degree murder and differentiated from second degree murder as it contains the idea of deliberation, as well as the mental state of the actor.
Definitions for review from Colorado statutes -
18-3-102. Murder in the first degree
(1) A person commits the crime of murder in the first degree if:
After deliberation and with the intent to cause the death of a person other than himself, he causes the death of that person or of another person; or
2) Acting either alone or with one or more persons, he or she commits or attempts to commit arson, robbery, burglary, kidnapping, sexual assault as prohibited by section 18-3-402, sexual assault in the first or second degree as prohibited by section 18-3-402 or 18-3-403 as those sections existed prior to July 1, 2000, or a class 3 felony for sexual assault on a child as provided in section 18-3-405 (2), or the crime of escape as provided in section 18-8-208, and, in the course of or in furtherance of the crime that he or she is committing or attempting to commit, or of immediate flight therefrom, the death of a person, other than one of the participants, is caused by anyone; ~snip~
Theres another category of murder one which is under section (f) of the codes stating this:
(f) The person knowingly causes the death of a child who has not yet attained twelve years of age and the person committing the offense is one in a position of trust with respect to the victim.
And pertaining to sexual assault:
18-3-405. Sexual assault on a child
(1) Any actor who knowingly subjects another not his or her spouse to any sexual contact commits sexual assault on a child if the victim is less than fifteen years of age and the actor is at least four years older than the victim.
IIRC, the dream team attorneys assisting the BPD believed there was a potential felony murder charge available because of the sexual assault. However, with the issue of BR possibly involved with the paintbrush assault, the felony murder charge elevating her death to murder one could not be triggered, i.e., if using the definition of assault listed in 18-3-405.
Its also relevant to mention second degree murder, because there is intent in both second degree murder as well as first degree murder. However, there is a nuanced difference:
18-3-103. Murder in the second degree
(1) A person commits the crime of murder in the second degree if the person knowingly causes the death of a person.
To recap. Deliberation seems an aspect of murder one which differentiates it from second degree murder -
If BR was responsible for both head blow and asphyxiation, there was a time period of 45 minutes to 2 hours between the two injuries; this was according to Kolar and Beckner the determined time frame of Dr. Rorke. This time frame was one in which BR could have fetched one of his parents to get assistance. Though, if he placed a ligature on her to disguise this as a bad guy crime, to lift her up by the neck, or if some other reason can be given beyond intentionally asphyxiating her, then it wouldnt be adjudged murder one in a court of law. Only the GJ found probable cause for the cover up of murder in the first degree. If BR had been responsible and old enough to be tried in court, a jury would have rendered final judgement on this, including his state of mind.
(Also, I dont know why Beckner and Kolar who were both familiar with the GJ have different theories. According to Beckner there is just no smoking gun in this case. But if one believes one of the parents was responsible for the asphyxiation, the same logic applies.
If one of the parents were responsible for the asphyxiation, there is the same time period in which they deliberated what to do and then chose to distance this crime from whomever inflicted the head blow.)
One last item Id mention is that various states calculate deliberation in different ways. In some states deliberation may be as short a time period as a few seconds.
Kolar says in his book,
"I inquired whether treatment for SBP would last a year or more. Dr. Araji indicated that it was possible, but that treatment going on for an extended period of time might be due to the involvement of some other type of behavioral disorder problem. She advised that SBP symptoms could be intermixed with other childhood behavioral disorders, thus requiring greater lengths of treatment."
On that quote, Ill let someone else connect the dots between SBP or some other mental state and the asphyxiation
.