People v. Petrovich

OPINION OF THE COURT

Memorandum.

The order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed.

Defendant was convicted, after a jury trial, of murdering his parents. His defense was predicated on the theory that at the time of the crime defendant suffered from a mental disease or defect which deprived him of the capacity to appreciate the criminal consequences of his conduct. After both sides rested, the court inquired whether defendant wanted an instruction on the affirmative defense of extreme emotional disturbance to reduce the two counts of murder in the second degree to the lesser included…