Latoya Dickens was convicted of felony murder in the stabbing death of her husband, Otis Dickens. She appeals from the denial of her motion for new trial,1 challenging the effectiveness of her trial counsel and contending that comments by the trial judge violated OCGA § 17-8-57. Finding no error, we affirm. 1. The jury was authorized to find that Dickens called 911 and said she was going to kill her husband and had armed herself with a knife. Two minutes later Dickens called 911 again and reported that she had stabbed her husband. Police responding to her calls discovered the victim, stabbed but still alive. He died as a result of the stabbing two days later. In statements Dickens voluntarily made to the first officer on the scene and later reiterated, after being informed of her Miranda rights, to the investigating detective, Dickens explained that after an earlier quarrel with the victim over her use of the family van, she took an hour and a half walk to think things over; upon her return to the apartment, she punched the sleeping victim in the mouth; the victim awoke, grabbed her and pushed her onto a sofa; Dickens went into the kitchen, obtained a knife, made the first 911 call and kicked in the bedroom door to confront the victim; after the victim retreated into the bathroom, Dickens kicked in the bathroom door, struggled with the victim over the knife and stabbed him in the left side, penetrating his lung; she then placed the second 911 phone call and waited for the police to arrive. In explaining her actions, Dickens said that she was “tired of it” and wanted a “normal life.” Witnesses for the defense detailed the abusive relationship between Dickens and the victim and an expert in battered person syndrome who evaluated Dickens testified that Dickens was suffering from the syndrome. Dickens testified that she had been in an abusive relationship with the victim since she was 13 years old when he impregnated her with the couple’s first child.
The credibility of the witnesses was a matter for the jury. See generally Hufstetler v. State , 274 Ga. 343 1 553 SE2d 801 2001. The evidence adduced was sufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to find Dickens guilty of felony murder beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U.S. 307 99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560 1979.
