People v. Lutes

—Mercure, J. P.

Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Greene County (Lalor, J.), rendered June 19, 1998, upon a verdict convicting defendant of the crime of manslaughter in the second degree.

Defendant and two codefendants were indicted on a single count of depraved indifference murder for the death of Kenneth Strickland, whose body was found in several inches of water in the spillway of a pond in Greene County. The cause of death was determined to be multiple blunt force injuries and drowning. The autopsy revealed that Strickland had numerous blunt force injuries, including bruises and…