on may 26, 1980, anderson, then 26, burglarized the bloomington, california house of 81-year-old elizabeth lyman, a retired piano teacher. in the middle of the night, anderson cut lyman's telephone line with a knife, and broke into her home by removing a glass pane from her french doors. he checked the house for occupants room by room. when he entered lyman's bedroom, she awoke and screamed. anderson shot her in the face from close range with a .45 caliber handgun, fatally wounding her. he covered her body with a blanket, recovered the expelled casing from the hollow-point bullet that killed her, and ransacked her house for money. he found less than $100.