[5 N.Y.2d 607 Page 610] Defendant, a 22-year-old epileptic, was convicted of murder in the first degree and sentenced to death. He was charged with
causing the death, on the night of April 17, 1957, of Patricia Ruland, a girl of 19, by striking her face and head with a
hammer at least 19 times while they were seated together in the rear seat of his automobile in the County of Kings.
