Commonwealth v. Reavis

The defendant appeals from his conviction of murder in the first degree on a theory of deliberate premeditation for the stabbing death of his wife. The identity of the defendant as the person who stabbed the victim was not a live issue at trial. The defense was based on the theory that the stabbing was not premeditated, and that the defendant should be found guilty of murder in the second degree, both because he was intoxicated at the time of the stabbing and because he was under extreme provocation, having learned that his wife had been unfaithful. The defendant argues that the admission of…