Ohio Supreme Court, 1987

The court held that Ohio law did not require an involuntary-manslaughter instruction because the asserted mutual-suicide pact, if believed, would be a complete defense, and it concluded that testimony from the victim’s mother was relevant or, alternatively, harmless.

The court affirmed in part and reversed in part the appellate judgment, holding that genuine factual disputes remained about the van driver’s statutory and common-law negligence, proximate cause, and comparative negligence, so those issues could not be resolved on summary judgment.