Defense attorneys blame PTSD for infant's beating death

Defense attorneys blame PTSD for infant's beating death

RALEIGH, N.C. — An Iraq war veteran facing a possible death sentence for the death of his 10-month-old stepdaughter was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder that was being self-medicated with alcohol and prescription painkillers when he beat her to death inside their Raleigh home nearly two years ago, his defense attorney told jurors Monday.

Attorney Thomas Manning said that Cheyenne Emery Yarley's death was a "perfect storm" of substance abuse and PTSD that "blew up" as Joshua Andrew Stepp tried to quiet and comfort the crying child.

"This attack was a singularity in Josh Stepp's existence. That's what the evidence will show," Manning said. "Never before had it happened – had anything happened."
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