People v. Ambro

505 N.E.2d 381 (1987)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D and Ruth were married on May 25, 1974. At the time of the killing on March 28, 1985, the couple had two children, ages six and two years old. In 1978, the couple began experiencing marital difficulties, and Ruth attempted suicide. In June 1984, the couple separated until Ruth returned to their Elgin residence two weeks later. During late 1984 and early 1985, the couple's marital problems worsened. D testified that the couple did not have marital relations until after December 1984, and Ruth would stay out at night until 4:30 a.m. without explanation. D became suspicious of her activities when he observed that Ruth was wearing different types of underwear and discovered she had purchased birth control pills. They joined a marital counselling group, and Ruth informed the group that she no longer loved D and was going to divorce him. D stated that he attempted suicide shortly thereafter. Ruth met with an attorney and scheduled a meeting for March 29, 1985, to sign a petition for dissolution of the marriage.

On March 28, 1985, Ruth immediately began bickering with D when he got home from work. David Gordon, a police officer with the Kane County sheriff's police department and a friend of the couple, arrived at the residence. D asked Gordon several times whether he had come to serve defendant with divorce papers. Ruth had told D she had seen an attorney and wondered why the divorce papers had not yet arrived. Gordon left, and things calmed down for a bit. D was cleaning the kitchen counter and was holding two knives in his hand when his wife, who was on the living room sofa, told him that he had no right to complain about her handling of the children because he 'had no right to the children.' She called D an alcoholic and told him that he did not love the children and that she was going to take them away from him. Ruth said, 'I have another man and when we make love I feel like it was.' She then said, 'I know you want to kill me. Pull that knife and make it easy for me.' D then stabbed Ruth with a knife, testifying that he had no conscious knowledge of doing so or an intent to stab her. D immediately called the police, but Ruth never regained consciousness and died soon after being brought to the hospital. Ruth died from a single stab wound through the heart. D presented witnesses who testified to his reputation in the community for peacefulness and relating to the couple's marital problems. The court refused the testimony, on defendant's mental state at the time he killed his wife, by Dr. Lyle Rossiter, a psychiatrist who had examined D after his arrest. D asked for an instruction on voluntary manslaughter, but it was refused. D was convicted of murder and appealed.