California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Berry-Vierwinden, D059670 (Cal. App. 2012):
9. Unlike lying-in-wait murder, the lying-in-wait special circumstance does require intent to kill. (See People v. Edelbacher, supra, 47 Cal.3d at p. 1023; People v. Superior Court (Bradway), supra, 105 Cal.App.4th at p. 309.)
10. However, the act of lying in wait does not alone establish a killing as first degree murder. (People v. Laws, supra, 12 Cal.App.4th at p. 793.) Rather, to establish murder the jury must find that the killing was committed with express or implied malice; the lying-in-wait conduct is then used to elevate the murder to first degree murder. (Id. at p. 794.)
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