People v. Van Wyck

Per Curiam:.

The prosecutor has asked us, in each of these cases, to determine whether the Court of Appeals was correct in holding that voluntary manslaughter is a necessarily included offense within the crime of murder.

Robert Bruce Van Wyck was convicted by a jury in Kent circuit court of the second-degree murder of Lois McDonald. The jury was instructed on first-degree murder and second-degree murder. Defense counsel requested that the trial court also instruct the jury on manslaughter. The request was refused.

The Court of Appeals concluded that voluntary manslaughter is a necessarily…