Loren Peterson, a male military retiree, was shot and killed while seated in his living room chair on November 17, 1991, in the rural community of Marydel, Maryland. The person who shot him was his wife, Barbara Ann Peterson, who walked to her daughter’s nearby home and called police after the killing. Officers arrested her at the scene and she was charged with first-degree murder and related counts.

At trial in November 1992, the defense did not dispute that Barbara had fired the shot; it instead argued she was not criminally responsible due to insanity and centered on a history of physical and emotional abuse by Loren, contending battered spouse syndrome. On November 23, 1992, a jury convicted her of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, battery, and use of a handgun in the commission of a felony; she was sentenced to life for the murder plus a consecutive 20-year term for the handgun count. The conviction was later overturned on appeal on the ground that trial counsel failed adequately to investigate and present evidence of battered spouse syndrome, and the case was closed after that ruling.

Does anyone have additional details about the marriage or the appeal that could shed light on how the battered spouse evidence was handled?