Cavitt v. Cullen, No. 10-16988 (8-29-13)(Fisher with Noonan and Nguyen). 

The 9th affirms the denial of a habeas petition that argued there was no nexus between a felony of robbery and the murder.  The victim was the stepmother of the petitioner's girlfriend, and the stepmother was left hogtied to a bed, breathing with difficulty because she was covered with a sheet.  The petitioner and another friend  pretended to bind the girlfriend/stepdaughter.  The defense was that the step daughter had murdered the stepmother because of animosity.  The 9th upheld the denial, finding that the jury instructions had defined the nexus between the felony and the felony murder.  The nexus was reasonable, even if someone else killed her, given the circumstances in this case.