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Final Copy 287 Ga. 805 S10A1189. DEMERY v. THE STATE. BENHAM, Justice. Appellant Natasha Wynetta Demery was convicted in Cobb County of the felony murder of Alisha Florine Lea, with the predicate felony being aggravated assault, and possession of a weapon during the commission of a felony.1 On appeal, appellant contends the State exercised its peremptory challenges in a racially-discriminatory manner, the evidence was not sufficient to authorize the jury's guilty verdicts, and the trial court erred when it declined to give the jury a requested instruction on the law of involuntary manslaughter. After

examining the record in light of Demery's enumerations of error, we affirm the judgment of conviction. 1. The State presented evidence that the victim died as a result of a gunshot fired from a .380-caliber pistol that was discharged when it was in contact with the victim's head. Appellant reported the death to authorities and
The victim died December 7, 2006. On April 12, 2007, the Cobb County grand jury returned a true bill of indictment which charged appellant with malice murder, felony murder (aggravated assault), aggravated assault (shooting the victim with a deadly weapon), aggravated assault (brandishing a deadly weapon), and possession of a weapon during the commission of a felony. Appellant's trial commenced February 23, 2009, and concluded March 2, 2009, with the jury's return of guilty verdicts on all charges except malice murder. Appellant was sentenced on March 2 to life imprisonment for felony murder and a five-year term, to be served consecutively, for the possession of a firearm conviction, with the aggravated assault convictions deemed by the trial court to have merged into the felony murder conviction. Appellant's motion for new trial, filed on March 16, 2009, amended August 10, and the subject of a hearing held on September 14, 2009, was denied on September 23. Appellant's notice of appeal was filed October 12, 2009, and the appeal was docketed to the April 2010 term of this Court.
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admitted she was pointing the gun at the victim when the fatal shot was fired. Through the testimony of the detective to whom appellant made statements after reporting the victim's death, the State presented evidence that appellant and the victim lived together and, while driving home that night, had been engaged in an argument which resulted in the victim leaving appellant stranded at a fastfood restaurant, appellant arriving home and locking herself in a spare bedroom, the victim gaining access to the spare bedroom and arguing with appellant, appellant exiting the spare bedroom and retrieving a loaded pistol from the master bedroom, appellant chambering a round in the pistol and pointing it at the victim, and appellant using the pistol to poke the victim in the back of the head while telling the victim "Didn't I tell you that the next time you put your hands on me I was going to drop you where you stand?" A detective testified appellant initially told him that she pulled the gun's trigger and later told him the shooting was an accident. Appellant presented a justification defense based on "battered person syndrome," including testimony that she had been the victim of acts of violence committed by the deceased and expert testimony that appellant suffered from the syndrome. See OCGA

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