A lie told by an accused (including a detailed false account of events) is not necessarily 'intractably neutral' as between murder and manslaughter; whether such a lie is probative of murderous intent depends on the totality of the evidence, including the severity of the wound, relationship evidence, and other statements by the accused. A trial judge is not required to give a specific warning about the need for care in distinguishing consciousness of guilt of murder from manslaughter where a full and accurate direction on circumstantial evidence reasoning has been given and the lie, in context, is significantly more probative of murderous intent.
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