A former teacher sentenced to 30 years in state prison for gunning down her boyfriend in 2014 will get a new trial after filing for appeal.
Virginia Vertetis, 57, was convicted in 2017 of first-degree murder in the shooting death of retired New York City cop Patrick Gilhuley in her Mount Olive home. An appeals court released its decision Wednesday and vacated the conviction, NJ.com reports.
Vertetis had claimed she shot Gilhuley in self-defense. But prosecutors argued that she shot him without provocation because she was angry he had broken up with her.
In her appeal, Vertetis argued that the judge overseeing her trial was wrong when he told jurors she had a duty to retreat if she was in danger and could have derailed her self-defense claim.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
