State v. Walker

Robin Leigh Walker appeals a jury conviction of second degree assault, challenging the trial court's instructions on self-defense. We find no merit in her contentions and affirm the conviction.

In the early morning hours of April 15, 1982, Deane Walker was stabbed in the back with an 8-inch butcher knife by his estranged wife, the defendant, in an apartment the couple had shared during their marriage. Mrs. Walker did not deny stabbing her husband, but asserted that her action was in self-defense. She claimed that Mr. Walker would have struck her if she had not acted first. The State charged…