People v. Casassa

Facts

The defendant, Victor Casassa, became obsessed with his victim, Victoria Lo Consolo, after she rejected him. On several occasions ha broke into her apartment and on the last visit, he brought the victim a gift, which she refused. Upon her refusal, the defendant stabbed the victim and submerged her in a bathtub to make sure that she was in fact dead. The defendant was charged with second-degree murder and did not contest the facts of the crime. The sole issue presented to the trial court was whether the defendant, at the time of the killing, had acted under the influence of “extreme emotional disturbance” thereby warranting a reduction from second degree murder to manslaughter.  The defendant had a psychiatrist testify that the course that the relationship with the victim had taken, combined with several personality attributes peculiar to the defendant, caused the defendant to act under the influence of extreme emotional distress. The state presented witnesses who testified that the defendant was not under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance within the meaning of the penal law, which provides that “it is an affirmative defense to the crime of murder in the second degree where the defendant acted under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance for which there was a reasonable explanation or excuse”, because his disturbed state was not the product of external factors but rather created from within himself. At trial, the court held that the defendant’s emotional reaction at the time of the commission of the crime was so peculiar to him that it could not be considered reasonable and therefore did not show adequate provocation. The defendant appeals.