Murder case from 1980s follow-up: Hollywood makeup guy Donald Lee Morse

Factual Questions
1

The details, as I’ve seen them:
Donald Lee Morse (who worked under the name “Donl Morse”) was a makeup guy in Hollywood. Apparently, he was behind in his union dues, and was “duly” fined.
Morse, not happy about being fined, apparently had some words with local makeup union boss Howard Smit.
On Feb 5, 1986, a masked gunman shot Smit with a .38. It was not fatal, and Smit made a full recovery, dying only last year at 98..
Morse quickly became person of interest, as it was known that he hand Smit had had some words.
Police officers were dispatched to Morses’s apartment to look for a gun. They did find one, but not the one used in the shooting.
They did, however, discover two pipe bombs/booby traps. One of them exploded, killing Officers Arleigh McCree and Ronald Ball.
The weapon from Smit’s shooting was never recovered, and no one was ever charged with that crime. Morse, however, was charged with and convicted of first-degree murder in the cases of Officers McCree and Ball.
In 1992, an appeals court reduced the conviction to second-degree murder conviction.
No details after that.

GQs:
Is he still serving life?
The original sentence said “without possibility of parole.” Did the sentence reduction also remove that part of the sentence?

2

You should be able to look up prisoners online.

In California it is the California Department of Corrections and Rehablitiation

Unforatunately, at least for me, the link is timing out. But maybe you’ll have better luck.

3

I think he died just last year. SSDI says a Donald Lee Morse, born 21 Aug. 1949, died 1 May 2009. Last residence-California. SS card issued in Florida.

His birth date in the SSDI would square with his reported age in news stories at the time of his arrest.

He funeral was in Orlando, home of his sister and brother-in-law, who had recently divorced(1985) and the BIL testified at Morse’s trial that Morse had threatened him over the phone two weeks previously.

4

OK. Thanks. Didn’t think to check if he was still alive.