Full opinion text
Opinion CHIN, J. A jury convicted defendant Robert Edward Maury for the first degree murders (Pen. Code, § 187) of Averill Weeden, Belinda Jo Stark and Dawn Berryhill, the assault on Stark with intent to commit rape (§ 220), the robbery (§211) of Berryhill, and the forcible rape (§261, subd. (2)) of Jacqueline H. It found true special circumstance allegations of multiple murder (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(3)) and robbery murder (§ 190.2, subd. (a) (17)(i)). After a penalty trial, the jury returned a verdict of death, and the trial court imposed that sentence. This appeal is automatic. (§ 1239, subd. (b) .) As will appear, we affirm the judgment in its entirety. I. Facts A. Guilt Phase 1. The Prosecution’s Case a. Introduction The prosecution presented a fact-intensive, circumstantial case of defendant’s guilt, which interconnected three murders and the rape of a fourth victim. A central element in the case was the Shasta County Secret Witness program (Secret Witness), which was established as a telephone “hotline” to receive information from citizens about crimes committed in the county. A month after Weeden’s disappearance in 1985, an anonymous caller called the Secret Witness with information on the location of Weeden’s body in exchange for reward money. This information led to the discovery of Weeden’s body. Although the police suspected that defendant, Weeden’s roommate, had been involved in her disappearance and was possibly the Secret Witness caller, there was insufficient evidence of his involvement in Weeden’s death or that he was the caller. In 1986, defendant called the Secret Witness about seeking a reward for information on an unrelated burglary. During the call, defendant identified himself by name. The operator believed that he was the same person who had previously provided information on Weeden. At the end of June 1987, Berryhill and Stark disappeared. Soon after-wards, the Secret Witness operator received a series of telephone calls from an unidentified caller, whom she believed to be the previous caller. He provided information leading to the discovery of the women’s bodies, which were later located in the same rural area, within three-tenths of a mile of each other. The caller again received monetary rewards for the information provided. When the caller retrieved the reward money at a designated drop-off point, the police identified him as defendant. After the police later confronted defendant with this information, he made a series of incriminating statements, which eventually led to his arrest. b. Weeden’s disappearance In May 1985, Weeden lived in Redding and rented a room in her house to defendant. On Thursday, May 23, Eula Chartier, Weeden’s mother, spoke to defendant several times on the telephone inquiring about her daughter’s whereabouts. Defendant related that Weeden was at the store. On the last call, defendant exclaimed, “How in the hell am I supposed to know where she is.” Unable to locate Weeden, Chartier reported to the police that her daughter was missing. While searching for his sister, Bill Chartier asked defendant where she was. Defendant gave conflicting stories. Ray Morris, who was with defendant at the Weeden house on one occasion, told Chartier that he last saw Weeden riding off with defendant on the back of his motorcycle. Assigned to investigate the disappearance of Weeden, Redding Police Detective Dave Mundy spoke with defendant at the police department on June 3, 1985. Defendant appeared to be “relaxed and self-assured” and denied any involvement in Weeden’s disappearance. He related that the last time he had seen Weeden was “either Thursday, Friday, or a Saturday.” At that time, defendant drove Weeden on his motorcycle to a telephone booth, left her there while he went to another location to pick up some drugs for Weeden, returned to pick her up, and drove her back to her house. A week later, Detective Mundy spoke again with defendant, who confirmed this account. c. The 1985 Secret Witness telephone calls and discovery of Weeden’s body On June 19, 1985, an anonymous person called the Secret Witness, inquiring as to how much he would receive for information on the location of Weeden’s body. Shirley Landreth, who answered most of the incoming calls for the Secret Witness, spoke to this person. On August 8, 1985, the same person (whose voice Landreth recognized) called and asked again about the amount of reward money he would receive for information on the location of Weeden’s body. This time, having received authorization to pay the reward money, Landreth agreed with the caller on the amount. The caller then gave precise directions to a wooded area located off a trail behind an automobile body shop in Redding. In relating the distances, he used the term “meters.” Claiming that he knew the identity of the person responsible for the Weeden killing, the caller offered to give information about the “responsible” person if he received his reward money in a timely manner. He also related that there were six unsolved murders in Shasta County and he could give information to solve two others. Based on the information provided by the caller, the police found Weeden’s badly decomposed body. It had been covered with cardboard and what appeared to be an old carpet. An autopsy, performed on August 23, 1985, revealed that Weeden’s skull and the bone at the top of her throat had been fractured “at or near the time of death.” The medical examiner opined that Weeden died from multiple traumatic injuries; either fracture, independently, or both fractures in conjunction, could have caused Weeden’s death. The fractured bone in Weeden’s throat was consistent with manual strangulation. After the discovery of Weeden’s body, Landreth received four more telephone calls from the same caller in August 1985. On August 12, the caller said that the person who had lived with Weeden was responsible for her death. Although the caller refused to talk with Detective Mundy, he said he would call back and answer questions that the officer gave to Landreth. On August 15, 1985, the Secret Witness caller telephoned Landreth as promised. Responding to Detective Mundy’s questions, the caller related that the person responsible for Weeden’s death was named “Robert” or “Bob” and had rented a room from Weeden; he knew this because he was “sort of with him”; he was Bob’s drug connection and had gone with him to collect the money; Bob had provided drugs to Weeden; and when Weeden could not pay for the drugs, Bob went out of control and strangled her with a nylon clothesline obtained from Weeden’s backyard. The caller further related that the killing occurred Thursday night on a trail and the body was dragged to where it was found. He refused to admit that he had observed the killing. Landreth asked, “If Bob denies [the involvement], how can we nail him?” The caller responded, “Tell Bob that Dave has talked to Frank” and that “it will scare the hmm [later described as a ‘four-letter word’] out of him.” On August 15, 1985, the Secret Witness caller telephoned Landreth again and responded to more questions provided by Detective Mundy. The caller related that Weeden was picked up at dusk and killed with a six- to eight-inch rock at 7:00 or 8:00 p.m. on Thursday; he knew it was Thursday because it had been a relative’s birthday; and Bob drove Weeden on his motorcycle while the caller drove his own car. The caller reiterated that Weeden had been strangled beside the trail, dragged to where she was eventually found, hit with a rock to make sure that she was dead, and covered with leaves and branches. Bob returned later and covered Weeden’s body with an object such as a blanket, towel, or rug. In describing where the police could find Weeden’s glasses, the rope, and the rock, the caller again used the term “meters.” When Landreth related that the police were unable to find the rope near the location of the body, the caller said that it could be found next to a shed in Weeden’s backyard. The police later found a nylon clothesline there. The caller said that he would check the next day and warned that if he did not receive his reward money, they would not hear from him again. On August 26, 1985, the same caller telephoned Landreth again. Responding to more questions provided by Detective Mundy, the caller described the clothing Weeden had worn and said that Bob covered the body with a rug. When asked if anyone had seen Bob return to the body, the caller responded that he did not know, although Bob had gone back several times on his dirt bike. d. Defendant’s additional statements to the police about Weeden’s death On September 4, 1985, Detective Mundy spoke with defendant again at defendant’s house. Defendant reiterated that he had driven Weeden on his motorcycle to a telephone booth, left her there while he retrieved some drugs, returned to Weeden, and then brought her back to her house. He believed this occurred on Friday night, May 24, because he recalled that the next day he attended a birthday party for his brother’s children. In November 1985, defendant telephoned Shasta County Sheriffs Detective Chester Ashmun. This time, he offered information on the cause of Weeden’s death to the effect that she had been strangled and hit on the head. He wanted consideration on a possession of stolen property charge in an unrelated case and immunity in the Weeden case. Detective Ashmun responded that he might be able to help defendant on the unrelated case. After Detective Ashmun related this information, Detective Mundy telephoned defendant. Defendant offered to talk, conditioned upon receiving immunity on the Weeden case. Detective Ashmun responded that only the district attorney could grant immunity. The next day, November 21, 1985, Detective Mundy and Shasta County District Attorney Steve Carlton interviewed defendant at defendant’s house. Defendant stated that close to the time of his nephews’ birthdays, he returned to Weeden’s house and found Morris strangling Weeden with a rope. Upon seeing defendant, Morris dropped Weeden. Defendant believed that she was dead. Another man, whom defendant did not know, pointed a gun at defendant. Morris used the same rope to tie defendant’s hands. Morris and the other man placed defendant in the back of Weeden’s truck with Weeden’s body. They drove to the woods where they dumped Weeden’s body. Although Weeden was already dead, Morris threw rocks at her body. Defendant convinced Morris not to shoot him by promising the men anything they wanted. After returning to Weeden’s house, Morris threatened that if defendant turned them in to the police, they would kill him. On December 10, 1985, Detective Mundy spoke with defendant again. Defendant repeated how Weeden had been strangled, but said he was not sure if Weeden was dead when Morris dropped her. This time, however, defendant claimed that Morris forced him, at gunpoint, to strike Weeden on the head with a rock to disguise how she died. During the interview, defendant used the term “meters,” which led Detective Mundy to suspect that defendant was the Secret Witness caller. When asked if he was the caller, defendant denied it. e. The 1986 Secret Witness telephone calls On September 11, 1986, over a year after receiving the last telephone call from the Secret Witness caller, Landreth received a telephone call from a person offering information on a burglary, unrelated to the Weeden case, in exchange for a reward. Landreth recognized the person’s voice as the same caller who had made the 1985 anonymous calls regarding Weeden. The caller identified himself as “Bob” or “Robert Maury.” A week later, the same person who had called Landreth about the unrelated burglary, and who Landreth believed had also called in 1985, called again. He wanted immunity on the Weeden case. The Secret Witness calls from this person stopped, but as shown below, resumed in August 1987, after the disappearances of Berryhill and Stark. In the spring of 1987, defendant called Detective Mundy. Upset because his name had been leaked as a possible informant in an unrelated robbery trial, defendant taunted Mundy that he would never really know what had happened to Weeden and would “take Averill Weeden’s death to [Mundy’s] grave.” f. The Jacqueline H. rape On June 20, 1987, defendant began talking to Jacqueline H. and introduced himself as “Maury as in hooray.” Defendant drove Jacqueline H. on his motorcycle to her friend’s house, where she stayed for a few hours. She returned home and then left her house about dusk to go to a fair. About one and one-half blocks from her house, Jacqueline H. saw defendant parked on the side of the road. She wondered why he was there since she had not divulged her home address. Defendant invited Jacqueline H. to a friend’s party at the bike trails in Happy Valley. She accepted and he drove her on his motorcycle to the bike trails. Defendant then turned onto a dirt road off Happy Valley Road, drove on some smaller dirt trails for about a mile, and stopped in a clearing in the woods. When Jacqueline H. saw that there was no one around, she became scared and asked to be taken home. Fearing that she would be killed, Jacqueline H. took her driver’s license from her purse and hid it in her back pocket. Initially, defendant said that they should wait for a few minutes. He then placed a rope around Jacqueline H.’s neck and demanded that she remove her clothes as he tightened the slip knot around her neck. After Jacqueline H. removed her clothes, defendant ordered her to lie down. When she complied, he raped her. Afterwards, he drove Jacqueline H. home. Because Jacqueline H. felt that she had no one to turn to, she did not immediately tell anyone about the rape. In early August 1987, Jacqueline H. told her new boyfriend, Gary Minoletti, about the rape. In late August, after the disappearance of Berryhill, Jacqueline H. saw defendant drive up to a liquor store on his motorcycle. Recognizing him, Jacqueline H. asked defendant if his name was Bob; he said it was. Defendant asked Jacqueline H. if she was Berryhill. She then went inside the store and told Minoletti that the man who had raped her was outside. When Minoletti confronted him, defendant acknowledged that he was Bob Maury and asked, “Is that Dawn?” When Minoletti replied no, defendant commented that Jacqueline H. looked “just like” Berryhill. Minoletti wrote down defendant’s license plate number and reported the rape to the police that night. Detective Mundy was in charge of the rape investigation and never told Jacqueline H. about the murder of Berryhill. g. The disappearance of Berryhill On Monday, June 22, 1987, two days after the rape of Jacqueline H., Berryhill disappeared. Earlier that morning, Berryhill kicked her boyfriend, Mike Brumett, out of her South Market Street apartment. Later, Diana Williams (Berryhill’s mother) was babysitting Berryhill’s six-month-old baby at Berryhill’s apartment and answered the telephone. The caller identified himself as “Bob” and wanted Berryhill to wait for him because he would be a few minutes late. He asked if Berryhill was still living with her boyfriend. When Williams replied no, defendant commented “good,” because he intended to rent Berryhill an apartment and would not rent it to her if she was still with her boyfriend. About 2:00 p.m., not long after receiving a second telephone call from “Bob,” Williams left Berryhill’s apartment to find her daughter. She saw Berryhill talking to defendant in a park, about two blocks from the apartment. Defendant was sitting on a dark “Honda-type” motorcycle. Berryhill returned to the apartment with Williams. She told Williams that she was going to meet “Bob” at 8:00 p.m., that she had already been with him that day, and that they were going to “Big Mama’s house” to buy “pot.” Williams left Berryhill’s apartment at 3:00 p.m., after giving her $100. That was the last time Williams saw her daughter. Goldie Lane lived above Berryhill’s apartment. About 9:00 p.m., on June 22, 1987, Berryhill asked Lane for a ride to buy some marijuana. Lane replied that her car’s lights were not working, but offered to babysit for Berryhill if she could get a ride with someone else. Berryhill accepted and said that she could get a ride with a guy on a motorcycle at the liquor store across the street. Several minutes later, Berryhill brought her baby to Lane’s apartment and told Lane that she was going to “cop some dope.” Lane offered some money, but Berryhill declined because she had enough money. Berryhill showed Lane a roll of money, put it back in her purse, and left. That was the last time Lane saw Berryhill. That night, Bill Koeller went to Berryhill’s apartment to retrieve some of Brumett’s clothes for Brumett. Because Brumett thought Berryhill would become upset if he appeared, Koeller dropped Brumett down the street before proceeding to Berryhill’s apartment. Koeller spoke to Berryhill in front of her apartment. When it was getting dark, he saw defendant approaching them from the liquor store across the street. Berryhill waved defendant over to her. After defendant approached them and spoke to Berryhill, Koeller decided to leave. As Koeller left the area, he saw Berryhill leaving with defendant on his “Honda-like” motorcycle. Just before dusk on June 22, 1987, James Horan saw Berryhill in an alleyway near her apartment. Horan wanted to buy marijuana, but Berryhill said she did not have any to sell at that time. While they were conversing, Horan saw Berryhill wave at a man crossing the street toward them. Although Horan gave a general description of the man at trial, he could not identify defendant as that man; he was too far away. Because defendant matched the description of the man seen crossing the street toward Berryhill and leaving on the motorcycle, Detective Mundy questioned defendant about Berryhill several days after her disappearance. Defendant admitted that he knew a Dawn that lived across the street from the liquor store on South Market Street and that he had also met her in the park a couple of times. h. The disappearance of Stark Stark also disappeared at the end of June 1987. Before her disappearance, Stark was staying with her friend; Lucy Gray, in Fall River Mills. Gray last saw Stark on June 24, 1987, two days after Gray’s birthday. On Gray’s birthday, Stark showed Gray a small chrome-colored gun that she earned in her purse. Gary Evans, Stark’s boyfriend, last saw Stark around June 25, 1987. At that time, Stark told Evans that she was going to Nevada City to appear in court two or three days later for a traffic violation. Stark never appeared for her court appearance in Nevada City, scheduled on June 29, 1987. Because Stark anticipated that she might have to spend some time in jail and she had a “habit of coming and going,” Evans did not become concerned when she failed to contact him. No one reported her disappearance to the police. i. More Secret Witness calls, discovery of defendant as the Secret Witness caller, and discovery of remains of Stark and Berryhill On August 8, 1987, Landreth received a Secret Witness call from someone asking how much money he would receive for revealing the location of the body of a Gretchen Olsten. Landreth recognized the caller’s voice as the same person who had made the 1985 telephone calls about Weeden and the 1986 call on an unrelated burglary. She related that she needed to contact the program’s coordinator about a reward. Landreth then obtained authorization to offer a reward to the caller. On August 17, 1987, the same person called several times. He told Landreth that Olsten’s death had occurred about one and one-half months ago. He stated that if he gave directions to the body’s location, he wanted to be paid that day without an autopsy confirmation of the person’s identity. After Landreth and the caller agreed on a reward amount for an unidentified body, the caller gave specific directions to the body’s location in a wooded area in Happy Valley. Landreth related this information to the sheriffs office. The caller called back that same day; Landreth said that the police could not locate the body. When she asked if there was a power line in the area, the caller replied that they were on the wrong road. The caller stated that when he picked up the reward money, he would leave information about the person responsible in an envelope. He volunteered that the “boyfriend was responsible.” Wanting to confirm her identification of the caller, Landreth taped “one or two • sentences” during a telephone conversation. She played the tape for Detective Mundy over the telephone and played it again for him in person. Having spoken to defendant before, Detective Mundy identified defendant as the person on the tape. As prearranged, Detective Francis Brewer of the sheriff’s office left $500 reward money for the caller at the pickup point in the office of a title company in Redding. Detective Brewer was told that in exchange for the reward money, the caller would leave information on the identity of the killer. Defendant entered the office and gave the title company’s director an envelope in exchange for an envelope containing the reward money. Brewer retrieved the envelope left by defendant and discovered it was empty. It was later determined that defendant’s fingerprint was on the envelope. Based on the information provided by the Secret Witness caller, on August 17, 1987, the police found scattered, decomposed human bones in the Happy Valley area, the same general area where Jacqueline H. had been raped. Although the caller had indicated that the body was that of “Olsten,” the remains were later identified on October 16, 1987, as those of Stark. The coroner could not determine the cause of death, but testified that photographs of the crime scene showed that Stark had been sexually assaulted and died an unnatural death. In examining the body, the coroner noted that the victim had suffered blunt trauma force to the upper jaw, which caused the dislodgement of one of her teeth. He opined that because of the severity of the injury and the lack of evidence that the body had responded to the injury, the injury had occurred at or near the time of death. Sergeant Wooden discovered a blanket about 130 yards from where Stark’s remains had been found. At trial, two women who had lived with defendant in 1985 identified the blanket. Although the blanket found was in worse condition, one woman viewed the blanket as identical, while the other woman thought that the blanket was similar to one they had seen in defendant’s trailer. After the discovery of Stark’s unidentified body, Detectives Mundy and Newsome interviewed defendant about Berryhill’s disappearance on August 26. Defendant theorized that Berryhill’s boyfriend “killed her or whatever,” but then later said he had “no idea” what had happened to her. He admitted that on the day he last saw Berryhill, he had taken her to buy marijuana, but she was unable to buy any because no one was home. He said that he had returned Berryhill, at noon, to her apartment where her mother was babysitting. Defendant denied that he took Berryhill anywhere that night and claimed that, instead, he had been on a date with a Leanne Thurman that night. Before his date, he was with his friend Dave Hancock at the home of Hancock’s boss and told Hancock he wanted to be back home by 8:30 p.m. for his date. On September 15, 1987, Landreth received another telephone call from the person whom she recognized as the Weeden and “Olsten” caller. The caller wanted reward money for information regarding the body of Berryhill. The next day, the same person called Landreth three times. During the course of these telephone conversations, Landreth offered $500 for the location of an “unidentified body.” The caller replied that he had already divulged the body’s identity the previous day. They finally agreed that if the caller’s information led to Berryhill’s body, he would receive $1,250, but that if it led to an unidentified body or the body was not Berryhill’s, he would receive $500. The caller said that they would know it was Berryhill by her hair. When asked if Berryhill was no longer alive, he replied that he saw her boyfriend “do it to her.” The Secret Witness program’s advisory committee instructed Landreth to cooperate with law enforcement regarding any calls about Berryhill. On the morning of September 22, 1987, the same caller telephoned Landreth five times. Detective Mundy monitored and taped two of the telephone conversations. During the course of the monitored conversations, Landreth lied and said that the call was not being recorded. She assured the caller that she could not recognize a person’s voice since she talked to so many people every day. The caller described the area in Happy Valley where Berryhill’s body was located and said that Berryhill had been strangled with a scarf. Mundy again recognized defendant’s voice. On September 22, 1987, based upon the information received from the caller, the police found a decomposed body in the Happy Valley area, about three-tenths of a mile from Stark’s body and close to the area where Jacqueline H. had been raped. The body (later identified as Berryhill’s) was under a mattress and surrounded by dense brush and pine needles that had fallen from overhead trees. It appeared that the mattress had been placed over the body some time after the body had been placed there. There were pine needles in between the body and mattress, but relatively few pine needles on top of the mattress. A scarf was wrapped around the body’s neck. It was later determined that Berryhill died from strangulation. The police found a .22-caliber bullet slug near the victim’s feet. Later that day, after the body was found, Detective Mundy set up a surveillance at the title company office, the prearranged site where the caller would pick up the reward money. Detective Mundy saw defendant enter the office where defendant picked up the reward money. An officer took photographs of defendant entering and exiting the title company office. At trial, the title company’s director positively identified defendant as the person who retrieved the reward money that day. On September 23, 1987, the police found BerryhilPs purse. The purse was unzipped and contained no money. Its contents, including documents with BerryhilPs name, were scattered around the purse. It appeared that the purse had been there for awhile; the top of the purse and the scattered contents had been bleached by the sun. On September 30, 1987, the police searched defendant’s briefcase at his brother’s house. Inside, they found a flat boot string that was no more than five feet in length. One end of the boot string was knotted, while the other end was pulled through the opening of the knot to form a sliding loop. On October 5, 1987, Detectives Newsome and Mundy interviewed defendant again. They showed defendant the boot string from his briefcase and a photograph of him entering the title company office, and accused him of killing the three women. At one point, Detective Newsome agreed to fix $580 in traffic tickets for defendant if he gave them the name of Jane Doe One, the unidentified corpse that was later identified as Stark. Defendant admitted that he knew “all kinds of girls” who were missing, including Olsten, but denied that he killed anyone. When Newsome commented that defendant would need help if he had committed the murders, defendant asked to see a psychiatrist. A psychiatrist would confirm that he did not commit the murders. On October 14, 1987, Landreth received two more telephone calls from the same Secret Witness caller. The caller was extremely upset that his anonymity had not been guaranteed and complained that the police had taken photographs of him picking up the Secret Witness reward money. He asked to meet with the Secret Witness coordinator to complain about the breach of the program’s promise of anonymity to its callers. Landreth responded that she would try to reach the coordinator and asked him to call back. The police asked Roy Del Carlo, a member of the Secret Witness’s board of directors, to impersonate himself as the program’s director and meet with defendant. Because the remains of the two people had not been identified yet, Del Carlo was asked to try and discover the identities of the bodies and the perpetrator. The caller called back and identified himself as Robert Maury. Landreth told defendant that she had arranged for him to meet with Del Carlo, the Secret Witness’s coordinator, on the following day. On the next day, defendant called Del Carlo. Identifying himself as Robert Maury, defendant suggested that they meet that same morning. During their meeting, defendant was extremely upset that the police had photographed him claiming the Secret Witness reward money and had seized some of his personal items. He was also irate because the police had questioned his family members and had accused him of being homosexual; his family thought he was a murderer. Defendant demanded that unless the police apologized and returned his items, he would print and post 10,000 posters and place an advertisement in the paper discrediting the Secret Witness. When Del Carlo asked if he could provide additional information about Stark’s still unidentified body, defendant replied that a purse containing identification could be found near the body. Defendant wanted a reward for this information; Del Carlo promised to pay defendant if the information proved to be accurate and the purse was found. Later that day, defendant took Del Carlo to the purse. Defendant pointed to an object underneath some brush. When they got closer, Del Carlo saw that the object was a purse or handbag. When asked about additional evidence that would help the police, defendant replied that he could find a nickel-plated gun at that location. During the search for the gun, defendant became nervous when he heard a dirt bike and abandoned the search. On the ride back, defendant claimed that his girlfriend’s brother told him about the bodies, that he took defendant to the bodies, and that they took money and evidence from some of the purses. Defendant offered to take Del Carlo to the brother to be arrested if the identification revealed that the purse belonged to somebody that defendant knew. With the police, Del Carlo returned to and retrieved the purse, which was eight-tenths of a mile from Stark’s body. The purse contained Stark’s wallet, driver’s license, and address book. Defendant’s fingerprints were on pieces of paper inside the wallet. “Bob” had been written next to a telephone number on the back of the address book. “Nick” was also written in parentheses. The police later determined that defendant had given that same telephone number to others to contact him. The purse did not contain any money or a weapon. On October 16, 1987, Del Carlo arranged to meet defendant to pay him $250 reward for the purse. Defendant said he would take Del Carlo to the gun. At the meeting, defendant again demanded an apology, and wanted his motorcycle back and some tickets fixed. He said that the Secret Witness had paid him $1,250 for the last body he had turned in. When Del Carlo asked how much it would cost to recover the gun, defendant replied that there would be no extra charge because it was part of the original deal. He was confident that the purse would identify Jane Doe One (Stark). He indicated that there were more bodies and evidence in the Happy Valley area and referred to another body that had been recovered with a rope or scarf tied around the neck. On October 19, 1987, defendant spoke with Del Carlo on the telephone again. Defendant inquired if they could identify the victim from the identification in the purse; Del Carlo responded that he did not know. Defendant commented that he knew what the identification was, and it would identify the body. Defendant and Del Carlo met later that day. Defendant gave Del Carlo two traffic tickets to fix and showed him some anti-Secret Witness fliers that he intended to post. On October 20, 1987, defendant called Del Carlo. He said that because he had received his motorcycle back, he would not post the fliers. Defendant agreed to sign a document releasing the Secret Witness from liability for having divulged his identity as the caller. On October 21, 1987, defendant met Del Carlo and signed the release. Because the police could not locate a gun, Del Carlo inquired about it again. Defendant assured him that the gun was “out there” and that it was nickel-plated. He related that he would try to get a better location on the gun from his girlfriend’s brother, and would take him there so that he would leave his footprints and the police could catch him. Defendant denied that he knew Stark. The police never found a gun near Stark’s body. At defendant’s suggestion, Detective Newsome arranged for Dr. Angela Curíale, a psychologist, to meet defendant on October 23 and 30, 1987. In between these two interviews, on October 26, Newsome spoke with defendant on the telephone and asked him about the cause of Stark’s death. Defendant replied that Newsome already knew it. When Newsome guessed that she was strangled, defendant responded, “That’s what I heard.” During this conversation, defendant said that he would tell Dr. Curíale what he knew about Stark’s death, and where he had been told the murder weapon was located. Detective Newsome then met with defendant in person after defendant demanded that the police return his property taken from his brother’s house. During this meeting, defendant further represented that he would give up Stark’s murder weapon when he met Dr. Curíale on October 30. During the interviews with Dr. Curíale, defendant claimed he did not know the cause of Stark’s death. At the end of the October 30, 1987 session, Dr. Curíale saw defendant pull out what appeared to be a flat boot string from his pocket and quickly put it back. He commented that she should have searched his jacket while she had the chance; it would have given her some insight into who he was. j. Defendant’s arrest and subsequent events On November 6, 1987, the police arrested defendant. They searched defendant’s residence and found a Yamaha motorcycle and a Honda motorcycle. On November 7, 1987, Sandra Morton saw a newspaper article about defendant’s arrest, which contained photographs of Stark and defendant. Morton, a bartender, recalled that defendant, Stark, and Evans had been in her bar in the Fall River Mills Hotel toward the end of June 1987. At the time, defendant was sitting alone with his chair leaning back against the wall and staring toward Stark. Morton noticed defendant because he had a “strange face” and was sitting alone in a generally friendly atmosphere. Morton called the sheriffs office and positively identified defendant’s photograph from a photographic lineup as the person she had seen in the bar staring at Stark. At trial, she also positively identified defendant as the person she had seen in the bar. Patricia Huff and Evelyn Snipes also recognized defendant’s photograph in the newspaper. Huff recalled that she had seen defendant and Stark talking with each other in a liquor store one afternoon in late June or early July of 1987. Later that evening, she saw Stark and Evans together in the Fall River Mills Hotel bar, while defendant was seated by himself and staring in the direction of Stark. Snipes, a clerk at a market in Fall River Mills, recalled that she had seen defendant and Stark together at the market two or three times during the summer of 1987. At defendant’s request, Detective Newsome met with defendant at the county jail on'November 18, 1987. When Detective Newsome advised defendant of his Miranda rights, defendant said he wanted to talk, but only hypothetically, and insisted that the conversation not be taped. After they signed an agreement that defendant wrote to that effect, defendant discussed how he was going to “beat” each criminal charge. Defendant claimed that Nick Pinada was a possible suspect and offered that if the prosecution granted him immunity on two or three of the cases, he would testify against Pinada regarding the murders of Stark and Berryhill. He related that Pinada knew Stark and had killed more than one person. On January 28, 1988, the day after the preliminary hearing in this case was held, a newspaper reporter interviewed defendant in county jail. During the interview, defendant claimed that he had not been in Fall River Mills since 1977 and that he had never seen Stark “in his life.” When asked about his fingerprints that were found inside Stark’s purse, defendant admitted that he had opened her purse. When asked about his fingerprints found on the envelope that was left at the Secret Witness drop-off location, defendant said he did not know how they got on the envelope, but conceded that they were his fingerprints. Defendant claimed that “the real killer,” an acquaintance of his, told him the location of the two women’s bodies found in the Happy Valley area and that he had killed them. He also claimed that Morris had used “a rope or something” to strangle Weeden. k. Other admissions made by defendant At trial, several witnesses testified regarding incriminating statements made by defendant. Norma Schwartz testified that on August 23, 1985, she worked with defendant in a restaurant and had an argument with him. He then threatened, “Listen bitch, I have killed before. And you’ll [be] just one more. And I’m going to snuff you out.” Schwartz became frightened and reported the threat to her manager. Beth Von Millanich (defendant’s former girlfriend) testified that sometime in 1985, defendant related that his landlord had been murdered, that he was a suspect, and that he was excited that he was a suspect. Defendant appeared happy about his status as a suspect. In the summer or fall of 1986, defendant was in county jail on an unrelated matter. As a jail trusty, defendant delivered towels to other inmates in their cells. Defendant told Tracy Trantham, one of the inmates, that he knew who had killed Weeden and that she was a “snitch” and “any snitch deserved to die.” Several times, he said that he fantasized about “strangulation with sexual relations.” Once, he asked Trantham if she had ever killed anyone. When she replied no, he related that he had. Defendant also told Trantham that he hated women and that “they had done a lot of things to bum him.” In February and March 1987, defendant had a sexual relationship with Stapley, who lived next door to him in Happy Valley. While having sex together, defendant said that “they” had killed the landlady and that he had been brought in for questioning on it. He laughed that he had “got off of that” and bragged that the police could not “get him for nothing” and that he “can get off of anything.” Defendant made her promise not to tell anyone about the landlady. At the time, Stapley thought defendant was lying because she had neither heard nor read anything about a landlady being murdered. In the summer or fall of 1987, defendant and Shelley Sly were at a bar while the movie Platoon was playing. Defendant told Sly that when he was in Vietnam he had to kill lots of men and women. He related that he had to strangle one and she died. 2. The Defense’s Case The primary theory of the defense at trial was that the prosecution had not proven its case against defendant. Regarding the Weeden murder charge, the defense relied on defendant’s extrajudicial statements to Detective Mundy and District Attorney Carlton that Morris killed Weeden and forced defendant to strike her with a rock after she was already dead. To support that defense, defendant presented evidence that Weeden had bought drugs with counterfeit money, that Morris had been involved with her in buying drugs, that he possessed Weeden’s truck after her disappearance, that he disassembled the truck and sold its parts, and that he had been subpoenaed as a witness in defendant’s trial but disappeared before trial. The defense theorized that Morris strangled Weeden over drugs and that he stole her truck after the killing. Defendant disputed that he made the 1985 Secret Witness calls regarding Weeden. He attempted to impeach Landreth’s voice identification by establishing that her answering service took in 2,000 calls per day and that one month before the preliminary hearing, she received a telephone call and could not identify whether the caller was defendant, his brother, or someone else. Regarding the Jacqueline H. rape charge, defendant attempted to impeach Jacqueline H. by presenting evidence that she had prior convictions and current charges for theft-related offenses, that she was addicted to methamphetamine, and that she had failed to seek medical attention or report the alleged rape until over one month afterwards. A defense psychologist testified that acute paranoia may be caused by heavy use of methamphetamine. Regarding the Berryhill and Stark charges, the defense theory was that defendant discovered the bodies accidentally while taking routine walks in the Happy Valley area and that he made the Secret Witness calls to obtain reward money, consistent with his history of helping the police as a paid informant. To support his theory that Berryhill’s boyfriend, Brumett, killed Berryhill, defendant presented evidence that Brumett was angry at Berryhill for throwing him out of the apartment, that he had threatened to kill Berryhill, and that he was waiting for Berryhill outside her apartment on the night of her disappearance. Defendant also attempted to impeach Koeller’s identification of him as the last person seen with Berryhill by presenting evidence that Koeller could not identify defendant in a photographic lineup soon after Berryhill’s disappearance and that a witness might have seen Berryhill on the following day. To support his defense that the prosecution failed to prove how or when Stark died and that her death resulted from a homicide, defendant presented testimony that several witnesses estimated they may have seen Stark in early July and that Stark had suffered a facial injury in a car accident before her disappearance. He denied that he knew Stark and attacked the reliability of the identifications of his presence with Stark. B. The Penalty Phase 1. The Prosecution’s Case In addition to relying on the circumstances of the charged offenses, the prosecution introduced evidence of defendant’s two prior felony convictions for receiving stolen property. 2. The Defense’s Case The defense presented evidence relating to defendant’s mental condition, marijuana abuse, and family background, including the mental and physical abuse inflicted on him and his siblings by his alcoholic father. In addition, defendant read a statement to the jury in which he claimed he had a “normal childhood,” denied that he suffered from depression, and declared, “You found me guilty of three murders, one rape, one attempted rape and one robbery. It’s totally unrealistic for you to give me life in prison without parole. If you think I’m guilty, you give me the death penalty.” II. Discussion A. Jury Selection Issues Defendant contends that the trial court erred in granting several of the prosecutor’s challenges for cause and in denying two of his challenges for cause. Whether the contention is that the trial court erred in excluding prospective jurors who exhibited an anti-death-bias, or erred in failing to exclude prospective jurors who exhibited a pro-death-bias, the same standard applies. (People v. Bradford (1997) 15 Cal.4th 1229, 1318 [65 Cal.Rptr.2d 145, 939 P.2d 259].) “A prospective juror may be challenged for cause based upon his or her views regarding capital punishment only if those views would ‘ “prevent or substantially impair” ’ the performance of the juror’s duties as defined by the court’s instructions and the juror’s oath.” (People v. Cunningham (2001) 25 Cal.4th 926, 975 [108 Cal.Rptr.2d 291, 25 P.3d 519], quoting Wainwright v. Witt (1985) 469 U.S. 412, 424 [105 S.Ct. 844, 852, 83 L.Ed.2d 841].) “On review of a trial court’s ruling, if the prospective juror’s statements are equivocal or conflicting, that court’s determination of the person’s state of mind is binding. If there is no inconsistency, the reviewing court will uphold the court’s ruling if substantial evidence supports it.” (People v. Hillhouse (2002) 27 Cal.4th 469, 488 [117 Cal.Rptr.2d 45, 40 P.3d 754].) 1. Grant of Prosecutorial Challenges The prosecutor challenged nine prospective jurors for cause. The trial court granted eight of those challenges. Defendant now claims that the court erred in granting six of the eight challenges for cause. As will appear, because the challenged prospective jurors indicated either that they could not apply the death penalty under any circumstance, or were not prepared to impose the death penalty and were undecided as to their ability to do so, the trial court did not err in excusing them. (People v. Cunningham, supra, 25 Cal.4th at pp. 980-982.) Moreover, at the most, the potential jurors’ statements were equivocal and conflicting regarding their ability to render a death verdict. Thus, we must defer to the trial court’s determination of their states of mind. a. Prospective Juror Fred R. In his questionnaire and in response to the trial court’s questions, Prospective Juror Fred R. stated that he might have problems applying the law to the case because he has opposed the death penalty as an appropriate punishment for “most of [his] adult life.” Further voir dire revealed the extent of Fred R.’s opposition against the death penalty: he stated that society’s imposition of capital punishment was “in a sense committing murder” and that he could not participate in a procedure that imposes the death penalty on a person. On the other hand, he related that there was an “extremely remote” possibility that he could impose a death verdict, but that the decision would be an emotional one, rather than one based on his “own reasoned conscience.” (See People v. Cunningham, supra, 25 Cal.4th at pp. 980-981 [prospective juror who could apply death penalty only if victim was family member was properly excused].) Exploring this discrepancy, defense counsel asked Fred R. which factor weighed more heavily, the prospective juror’s desire to comply with the law or his personal feelings about capital punishment. Fred R. replied, “That’s very difficult because I don’t believe in the law in this particular cáse.” He could conceive of a situation that would cause him to follow the law as instructed and impose the death penalty, but “it would be a surprise.” During questioning by the prosecutor, Fred R. reaffirmed his belief that capital punishment was “society’s version of murder,” but stated that as a juror, he would have to take part in that process. To further clarify Fred R.’s views, both the prosecutor and defense counsel asked him whether he could sign a verdict form imposing death if he was the foreman. Fred R. said he could not. Upon realizing that he would be required “to take complete responsibility” for something that he could not justify, Fred R. stated that he did not feel qualified within the law to sit as a juror in this case. He explained that his initial opinion that he could be seated as a juror in a capital case, although difficult, had been modified to the belief that he would not be qualified to sit as a juror. Juror Fred R. was properly excused. (See People v. Cunningham, supra, 25 Cal.4th at p. 980 [prospective juror properly excused for cause when he stated that he could not look at defendant and inform him that he had decided defendant should die, and that he did not want to go through such proceedings].) b. Prospective Juror Wyonne W. Prospective Juror Wyonne W. stated that she could follow the law and maintain an open mind and be willing to listen impartially to the evidence at the penalty phase. However, she later expressed doubts of her ability to “be a part of putting somebody to death, even if that person was a part of many deaths.” When asked if she could entertain the idea of putting defendant to death after determining that he was guilty of three murders and listening to more evidence, Wyonne W. replied, “I don’t think so.” Juror Wyonne W. was properly excused. c. Prospective Juror Curtis B. Prospective Juror Curtis B. expressed uncertainty as to whether he could apply the law and impose the death penalty. His uncertainties appeared to stem from the fact that his wife and friends knew defendant and he feared that he would “have to answer” in his afterlife for a decision that would hurt someone else. When asked by defense counsel if he could impose the death penalty if, after rendering a guilt verdict and considering the evidence at the penalty phase, he concluded that it was warranted and the appropriate punishment, Curtis B. replied that he could not promise that. Juror Curtis B. was properly excused. (Cf. People v. Ochoa (1998) 19 Cal.4th 353, 428 [79 Cal.Rptr.2d 408, 966 P.2d 442] [voir dire question whether prospective juror could promise to vote for death if she felt that death was the appropriate verdict properly sought a commitment from her to perform her duty].) d. Prospective Juror Joe T. When asked if he could vote for the death penalty “no matter what the circumstances were,” Prospective Juror Joe T. replied, “I don’t believe so. I’m not certain.” After further questioning, he stated that he could not envision any situation, as a juror, in which he could impose the death penalty. Juror Joe T. was properly excused. e. Prospective Juror Lori D. Expressing some uncertainty as to whether she could impose the death penalty, Prospective Juror Lori D. stated that she had taken an anti-death-penalty stance in recent years, that she did not think it was right to impose the death penalty, and that it could be “morally” wrong. Defense counsel asked if she would be able to vote for death if, after listening to all the evidence, she determined that the aggravating circumstances were so substantial in comparison to the mitigating circumstances that it warranted death. Lori D. replied, “I don’t think so.” She was properly excused. (People v. Cunningham, supra, 25 Cal.4th at p. 981 [prospective juror properly excused because she could not personally impose death penalty despite viewing it as an appropriate punishment].) f. Prospective Juror Joe H. When initially asked if he had strong feelings about the death penalty, Prospective Juror Joe H. responded that since he had never been asked about that subject, he could not say. Although Joe H. once agreed that he could impose verdicts of death or life without the possibility of parole, he later equivocated and said that he did not know if he could impose either penalty. Upon further questioning, Joe H. stated that he could not vote to impose the death penalty. He explained that he had never had to think about the subject, but that, upon reflection, he could not impose death. Juror Joe H. was properly excused. 2. Denial of Defense Challenges Defendant challenged Jurors Scott S. and Curtis L. for their alleged pro-death-penalty bias. Defendant faults the trial court for denying those challenges for cause. Here, the record shows that defendant accepted the jury after having exercised 23 of the 26 peremptory challenges allotted to him. To preserve a claim based on the trial court’s overruling a defense challenge for cause, a defendant must show (1) he used an available peremptory challenge to remove the juror in question; (2) he exhausted all of his peremptory challenges or can justify the failure to do so; and (3) he expressed dissatisfaction with the jury ultimately selected. (People v. Cunningham, supra, 25 Cal.4th at p. 976; People v. Crittenden (1994) 9 Cal.4th 83, 121 [36 Cal.Rptr.2d 474, 885 P.2d 887].) Defendant failed to satisfy any of these requirements. Therefore, his claim of error is not preserved for appeal. (People v. Lewis (2001) 25 Cal.4th 610, 634 [106 Cal.Rptr.2d 629, 22 P.3d 392].) Nevertheless, defendant asserts that his claim is preserved because he was justified in failing to use his available peremptory challenges to excuse the two jurors. He argues that given the large number of prospective jurors who had been exposed to pretrial publicity, it was likely that Scott S. and Curtis L., who had not been so exposed, would have been replaced with two jurors who were prejudiced by the pretrial publicity. However, defendant fails to give any record support for that claim. Moreover, defense counsel expressed no dissatisfaction with the jury. Thus, his argument is simply speculative. (See People v. Crittenden, supra, 9 Cal.4th at p. 121 [if defendant claims that the trial court wrongly denied challenge for cause, he must demonstrate that the right to fair and impartial jury thereby was affected].) Even if the issue were cognizable, defendant would not prevail. As shown below, defendant ultimately passed for cause one of the jurors he now contests. The other juror’s statements were, at most, conflicting. Accordingly, we must defer to the trial court’s determination of his state of mind. a. Juror Scott S. When asked by defense counsel to assume that defendant was found to have committed three deliberate and premeditated murders, and a rape and robbery without justification, Scott S. replied that the death penalty would be appropriate. However, he also said that he could keep an open mind regarding penalty. After questioning Scott S., defense counsel challenged him for cause. The record reflects that the trial court did not rule on the challenge at that time, but asked the prosecutor if he had any questions of Scott S. Apparently sensing that Scott S. was confused regarding the trial process, the prosecutor reviewed the guilt and penalty phases in more detail. He explained that the law required that the jurors be “neutral” on penalty at the start of the penalty phase and make their determination based on the evidence, including circumstances of the crime and defendant’s background, presented at the penalty phase. After the explanation, Scott S. stated that he “probably could keep an open mind” at the penalty phase. After the trial court noted the inconsistent answers given to defense counsel and the prosecutor, Scott S. assured the court that he could keep an open mind on the penalty regardless of the findings made at the guilt phase. When defense counsel asked why his opinion had changed as to the appropriateness of the death penalty, Scott S. explained that when he initially responded, he did not know that defendant’s background was a relevant factor at the penalty phase. He assured defense counsel that even if he found defendant guilty of three murders, a robbery, and a rape, he could remain “completely neutral” regarding penalty. After the second round of questioning, defense counsel passed Scott S. for cause. Thus, it appears that after further questioning of Scott S., defense counsel changed his mind about Scott S.’s ability to remain fair. Under these circumstances, defendant cannot now complain of the trial court’s failure to grant his challenge of Scott S. for cause. (People v. King (1970) 1 Cal.3d 791, 804 [83 Cal.Rptr. 401, 463 P.2d 753] [any challenge for cause must be seasonably made or is waived].) b. Juror Curtis L. When asked by defense counsel whether he could consider imposing either death or life without parole if he concluded that defendant committed three premeditated and deliberate murders without justification, Curtis L. indicated twice that the decision would be hard, but that he would probably lean in favor of the death penalty. In addition, when asked if he could assure the parties that he would keep an open mind regarding punishment if he were convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant committed “three heinous, premeditated, deliberate killings,” Curtis L. responded, “No, I couldn’t.” Later, the juror qualified those answers by emphasizing repeatedly that he believed he was an open-minded person and could remain so, that the appropriate punishment would depend on the circumstances, the defendant’s state of mind at the time of the crime, and the evidence presented, and that he would follow the instructions. Moreover, Curtis L. stated that he was not opposed to the death penalty, but that he believed it should not be imposed “lightly” and without “much thought and soul searching.” The trial court denied defendant’s challenge for cause because Curtis L. stated he could keep an open mind and follow the instructions. We find that the trial court’s retention of Curtis L. is amply supported by the record. B. Pretrial Issues 1. Suppression Motion Defendant claims that the trial court erred in failing to grant his motion to suppress evidence pursuant to section 1538.5. He argues that the trial court should have suppressed all evidence of his Secret Witness telephone calls to Landreth relating to the three murder victims, including the content of those conversations, and all evidence resulting from the Secret Witness calls, including evidence of his identity as the caller. We find no error. Defendant moved to suppress all evidence of the 1985 Secret Witness telephone calls regarding Weeden and the 1987 Secret Witness telephone calls regarding Berryhill and Olsten/Stark, including evidence of defendant’s identity as the Secret Witness callers. In alleging a Fourth Amendment violation, defendant relied on representations that the Secret Witness program guaranteed anonymity to its callers. He argued that the police violated that guarantee of anonymity when they illegally taped his telephone conversations with Landreth without a search warrant, and illegally took photographs of and surveilled defendant at the title company drop-off point for the purpose of establishing his identity as the Secret Witness caller. The following uncontradicted evidence was presented at the suppression hearing: The Secret Witness program of Shasta County was established by the Soroptimists, a private service organization, to aid law enforcement in investigating crimes. The program allows citizens to report information on crimes, with the possibility of receiving a reward. The program’s advisory board consists of private citizens and representatives from various law enforcement agencies. Based on recommendations by various law enforcement agencies, the board decides the reward offers to be made in specific criminal cases and the proposed payoffs for information provided. The listed crimes and approved reward offers are publicized in the newspapers and on television and radio. The board has the authority to deny requests for cooperation from law enforcement. Landreth, the owner of an answering service, contracted with the Secret Witness program to receive calls and information from tipsters, assigned tipsters a code number for identification purposes, and relayed information to the appropriate law enforcement agency. Funding for the program was not provided by law enforcement, but by various service organizations. The police began recording the telephone calls between defendant and Landreth on September 21, 1987. Before that time, none of the calls between the Secret Witness caller and Landreth had been recorded or monitored by the police. However, the police decided to solicit the help of the Secret Witness program and monitor the telephone calls after they began to suspect that defendant was the Secret Witness caller on the August 1987 Olsten/ Stark calls and on the September 1987 Berryhill calls. On August 8, 1987, Landreth received an inquiry about the reward money for the location of Olsten’s body and recognized the caller’s voice as the same person who had made