State v. Stepp

DILLON, Judge.

*133Joshua Andrew Stepp (Defendant) appeals from a judgment sentencing him to lifetime imprisonment, based on a jury verdict finding him guilty of first-degree murder, under the felony murder rule, for the death of his ten-month old stepdaughter Cathy.1 We conclude Defendant is entitled to a new trial based on the trial court’s failure to instruct the jury on an affirmative defense to the underlying felony, which supported the first-degree murder conviction.

I: Background

On the night of 8 November 2009 at approximately 8:50 P.M., Defendant placed a 911 call from his Wake County…