What defense might have been presented if specific intent had been at issue at the time of the killing?

Although the method of killing in this case points strongly to the existence of a specific intent to kill, we cannot speculate as to what defense might have been presented if specific intent to kill on the part of the perpetrator at the time of the killing had been in issue before the jury. Any defense of diminished capacity in regard to a specific intent to kill was neither developed nor argued. There may have been no evidence to support such a mitigation defense in regard to an intent to kill issue, but we cannot assume on this record that none exists. (People v. Turner (1984) 37 Cal.3d 302, 328, 208 Cal.Rptr. 196, 690 P.2d 669.)