State v. Koedatich

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

GARIBALDI, J.

In October 1984, a Morris County jury convicted the defendant, James J. Koedatieh, for the murder of Amie Hoffman and sentenced him to death. He appeals directly to this Court as of right. See R. 2:2-1(a)(3). We affirm defendant’s murder conviction. Because the trial court failed to instruct the jury properly in the sentencing phase, however, we must reverse the sentence of death and remand for a new sentencing procedure.

I

Facts

A. The Disappearance, Discovery of the Body, Investigation, and Arrest

In November 1982, Amie Hoffman was an…