A North Carolina court directs new trial a second time in case focused on self-defense argument

Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina appeals court has said for a second time that a woman convicted of fatally shooting her lover should receive a new trial. A divided three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals on Tuesday ruled the judge in the 2019 trial of Wendy Dawn Lamb Hicks erred by admitting as evidence text messages and photos from her cell phone. The majority said graphic texts and photos of sexual activity presented to jurors likely prevented her acquittal on self-defense grounds. Hicks was convicted of second-degree murder. The Court of Appeals ordered a new trial based on jury instructions in 2022, but the state Supreme Court reversed that decision.