People v. Harris

OPINION OF THE COURT

Levine, J.

Defendant was convicted after a jury trial of murder in the second degree (Penal Law § 125.25 [1]). The evidence established that defendant killed his long-time friend, Larry Amorose, with a machete. With the help of his girlfriend, defendant decapitated and dismembered Amorose’s body, put the body parts in garbage bags and discarded the bags in the ocean off Coney Island.

The trial court rejected defendant’s request for a charge on extreme emotional disturbance (Penal Law § 125.25 [1] [a]) on the ground that the evidence was insufficient to justify submission of…