In People v. Gunnerson (1977) 74 Cal. App. 3d 370, the cause of the victim's death was questionably a heart attack unrelated to the crimes. The prosecution called a pathologist who testified that the fear of the robbery was the direct cause of the heart attack. But the trial court denied defendant's request for appointment of a cardiologist. Because the cause of death was critical to the robbery felony murder finding, the Court of Appeal concluded the trial judge's denial of the defendant's motion for appointment of a pathologist was an abuse of discretion.