Defense lawyers for veteran charged with murder say PTSD was cause of crime

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Lawyers for an Iraqi War veteran facing a
possible death sentence if convicted of killing his 10-month-old
stepdaughter say he was suffering from post-traumatic stress
disorder when he beat her to death in their Raleigh home two years
ago.

Attorneys for Joshua Stepp said Monday at his first-degree
murder trial that the 28-year-old veteran abused alcohol and
prescription drugs to deal with having to pick up body parts of
fellow soldiers after they were killed in Iraq.

Authorities say Stepp beat, shook, and slammed the infant’s face
to the carpet while caring for her while her mother was at work in
November 2009. They say the baby also was sexually assaulted.

While Stepp’s lawyers agree he killed the child, they say he did
not sexually abuse the girl.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)