People v. Casassa
Court of Appeals of New York
404 N.E.2d 1310 (N.Y. 1980)
After Lo Consolo told Casassa (defendant) she was not falling in love with him, he engaged in escalating obsessive behavior, including breaking into her apartment while armed with a knife, and ultimately fatally stabbed her when she rejected his final attempt to win her back, then submerged her body to ensure she was dead; at his bench trial, the sole issue was whether he acted under extreme emotional disturbance, with the defense psychiatrist finding him obsessed but the prosecution's expert finding his disturbance fell short of "extreme." The trial court found his emotional reaction too peculiar to be objectively reasonable and convicted him of second-degree murder; Casassa appealed.
Whether a New York defendant may reduce a murder charge to manslaughter by showing extreme emotional disturbance with a reasonable explanation or excuse, determined through both subjective and objective analysis.