State v. Castagna

Bennett Grant went to a bar where Thomas D'Amico, Josephine Castagna (defendants), and their friend Violet Arias were present with a group who knew each other from high school and the neighborhood; Jean Morales (defendant) arrived later. At some point Grant violently attacked both Arias and Castagna, and as Morales arrived, a crowd formed around Grant, who tried to flee toward a nearby bridge; the crowd, turned mob, chased him yelling to kill him, knocked him down, and beat him savagely as he lay on the ground, with Morales hitting and kicking him repeatedly and Castagna striking him with a long object, before another man dropped a heavy block on Grant's head, killing him. The State of New Jersey (plaintiff) tried D'Amico, Castagna, and Morales for murder; the trial judge instructed the jury that passion/provocation manslaughter wasn't implicated, and the defendants appealed, arguing that omission was reversible error given their friendships with Arias and Castagna, the two people Grant had just attacked.