People v. Berry, 18 Cal.3d 509 (1976) p433.

manslaughter - intentional homicide

D (46 years old) married a 20 year old girl (Rachel) from Israel. Three days after their marriage she went to Israel for several weeks where she fell in love with another man. When she returned home to live with D she taunted D with stories of her having sexual encounters with the other man.. Rachel had sex with her husband at times, but also continued to talk about the other man. She showed D pictures of them together, and talked about marrying him. Rachel told D she did not want to have sex with him anymore as she was saving herself for the other man. D then choked her into unconsciousness. When Rachel returned home from the hospital, D was waiting for her, and there was a fight in which D ended up choking Rachel to death with a telephone cord.

D was charged by indictment with one count of murder. Jury found him guilty as charged. D was sentenced to state prison for the term prescribed by law. He appeals from the judgement of conviction.

If it is found that D was in a state of uncontrollable rage caused by provocation, was it an error for the trial court to fail to instruct the jury on voluntary manslaughter as he had requested?

Killing committed while in a blind rage is manslaughter, not murder.

Because D did kill in a state of uncontrollable rage, which was provoked by Rachel, this is a case of voluntary manslaughter and not murder.

Although there was 20 hours in which D could have cooled off, the provocatory conduct only built up and culminated with Rachel screaming when she returned from the hospital. The taunts led D into wild desperation. There was a two-week period of provocatory conduct that aroused rage and caused him to act rashly from this passion.

A psychyatrist testified Rachel was a depressed, suicidally inclined girl and that this suicidal impulse led her into this dangerous situation with D. She did this by sexually arousing D and taunting him in to jealous rages in an unconscious desire to provoke him into killing her and thus consummating her desire for suicide.