Articles Posted in Murder

Sharon Fitzpatrick, the woman charged with stabbing her husband Sylvester Mitchell at their home in May 2007 has been acquitted of Massachusetts second-degree murder. This was the second time that her Boston murder case had gone to trial. The first one had ended in a mistrial after jurors were unable to break their deadlock.

Fitzpatrick was accused of attacking Mitchell during a dispute. Authorities claimed she was angry that he came home later than was expected. They were to celebrate his 40th birthday.

While prosecutors have argued that Fitzpatrick had no injuries from the stabbing to indicate that she needed to protect herself against Mitchell, the 39-year-old woman has always maintained that she acted in self-defense.

Massachusetts Second-Degree Murder
With Massachusetts second-degree murder, the crime needs to have been committed with malice aforethought (but not deliberate premeditation) or while a non-capital felony was taking place. The maximum sentence if convicted is life in prison with parole after 15 years. Choosing the right Boston murder defense law firm can make a huge difference on the outcome of your case.

Defending someone against a murder charge can be a very complicated process. There may be reasons why charges against you should be dropped or reduced or why you should be found not guilty-even if there is evidence to indicate otherwise. There may be evidence to prove that you did not commit the crime. There may be witnesses that can testify in support of your defense.

Woman acquitted in ’07 death of husband, Boston.com, November 4, 2010
Ex-dispatcher faces retrial in husband’s death, Boston Herald, October 24, 2010
Prosecutor: Victim “Didn’t See it Coming,” Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office

Related Web Resources:
Defenses to Criminal Charges, Nolo
Murder News Stories, Google

Murder, Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog Continue reading

Verna Sewell, a 65-year-old Dorchester woman, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in Suffolk Superior Court yesterday, according to the Boston Globe. The case arose out of the May 2009 stabbing death of 74-year-old Julius Scott, who shared an apartment with Sewell. She will be sentenced tomorrow.

Police were informed of the stabbing when Scott called 911 and said that he had been stabbed “in the heart” by a woman who then left his apartment. By the time police arrived, Scott was dead, but a bloody knife was recovered at the scene. Police found Sewell, who fit the description of the woman living with Scott, at a bus stop with blood on her clothing. She told them that there was a struggle when he attacked her with the knife and that Scott was stabbed in the course that struggle.

The Boston Globe: Dorchester woman found guilty in roommate’s death
Continue reading

Do you think that homicide is a game only the young can play? Well, Verna S., a 65 year-old woman from Dorchester woman (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) would beg to differ. Yesterday, she was convicted in the May 2009 stabbing death of a 74-year-old man, Julius S.,(hereinafter, the “Deceased”) in the apartment they shared in Dorchester, according to Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley.

Sewell had been free pending the trial, but Superior Court Judge Frank Gaziano ordered her held once the guilty verdict was delivered. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday. She was apparently found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, not the Second Degree Murder charge she originally had been charged.

Her sentence can run from probation to 20 years in prison.

The police were alerted to the armed assault after the Deceased called 911 to report that he had been stabbed by a woman who then left his apartment. He told a dispatcher he had removed the knife from his chest. He was dead by the time police responded to his home. His cell phone and a bloody steak knife were found next to the chair.
Continue reading

The news has gotten even worse. Hours after law enforcement announced that a second person shot during this weekend’s shootings had died, there was yet another fatal shooting in Boston.

This shooting victim was a 30-year-old man who was shot on Geneva Avenue in Dorchester at approximately 8 p.m. He was pronounced dead at Boston Medical Center.

Police are investigating a possible gang or drug connection and looking for a black Cadillac Escalade seen leaving the scene shortly after the shooting. Ruiz did not name or describe any possible suspects, saying that the driver of the Cadillac was only wanted for questioning.

And so, with bodies piling up, law enforcement continues its investigation(s). There are a number of leads. Some will turn out helpful and lead to the factually guilty. Others will inevitably not be so helpful (in terms of Justice) and lead to the innocent.

Perhaps they will lead to you or somebody you care about.
Continue reading

How many of you thought that the Boston police and probation officers were over-reacting when you read my blog last week about their “late night calls” on probationers? As you may recall, it was in response to the rise of the homicide rate. Well, it would appear that these late night visits have not made that big a difference quite yet.

We have had another one of those “record weekends” in terms of shooting deaths this past weekend. Police are still investigating the shootings in the three Boston neighborhoods to find those responsible.

Yes, that means high profile arrests. Yes, that means you had better be careful, lest the finger of accusation make its way to your door.

Speaking about the shootings, these left one woman dead and five men wounded, Commissioner Edwin F. Davis has said that there are some “promising leads” already. He further added that, “It was a very unusual day to have that many incidents occur, We have noted spikes in this kind of activity before, and unfortunately, we’re experiencing one again this weekend.”

Yes, accent on the word “again”…not so much on the word “unusual”. This is not even the first time we have had such a weekend this year.
Continue reading

With jury members now selected, opening statements are scheduled to begin in the Chandry Levy murder trial on Monday. The 24-year-old woman was murdered in 2001 after she was attacked while jogging in a park. Her body was found over a year later.

At the time of her disappearance, Levy was the end of her federal internship at the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. The focus of the police investigation was originally directed at Gary A. Condit, a former congressman who had been her married lover. Condit was never charged.

The man who is on trial for Levy’s murder is Ingmar Guandique, a member of the Salvadorean gang Mara Salvatrucha. Guandique was sentenced in 2002 for attacking two other women at the same park where he allegedly attacked Levy. Officials claim that while Guandique was serving time for those crimes he told other inmates that he had murdered the intern.

According to The Washington Post, prosecutors are largely basing their murder case on this alleged confession. His former inmates say that Guandique told them told he raped and killed Levy. Authorities say that Guandique had a magazine photo of Levy in his jail cell. Prosecutors may also try to prove that his prior assaults and the Levy killing exhibit a pattern of behavior.

Meantime, Guandique maintains that he is innocent of Levy’s murder. In 2002, Guandique did not fail a polygraph test when he was questioned about whether he had any information about Levy’s disappearance. After the polygraph, the lead prosecutor on Guandique’s assault case told a judge that there was “no suggestion” that Guandique played a role in the Levy killing. Also, Guandique’s defense team have questioned the police investigation, including a memo that cleared Guandique and another man of any match in fingerprints found on a vehicle that was parked close to the crime scene.

There are no eyewitnesses or evidence linking Guandique to the murder.

Police errors expected to figure prominently in Levy trial, The Washington Post, October 24, 2010
Trial may start Monday in Chandra Levy murder case, CNN, October 23, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Chandra Levy mystery: A timeline, USA Today, May 22, 2002
General Laws, Malegislature.gov Continue reading

This is a question I encounter many times from clients. People do not seem to understand the rules regarding what rights the police must read them at the time of arrest, or around that time, and what happens if they do not. The rules are the same here in Massachusetts, whether the case be for a felony like murder or a misdemeanor like shoplifting.

File this one under the drawer marked “Trying To Outsmart The Investigating Officer” in the “What Not To Do” cabinet.

For those of you who are not sure, the so-called “Miranda Rights” (hereinafter, the “Rights”) originated from a United States Supreme Court ruling years ago. The aim was to ensure that folks who were interrogated by the police understood their rights not to talk to the police while in custody. In fact, it also was to make sure that said suspects were aware of what would likely happen to any statements made during said interrogation.

We have all seen the Rights in action on television and in the movies. They advise the suspect, in fairly routine words that he/she has the right to remain silent and the right to have an attorney present, that if they cannot afford an attorney then one will be appointed and that anything he/she says will probably be used against them in court.
Continue reading

As I have often written, one does not always know either when there is a Massachusetts criminal investigation or even an arrest warrant in existence in one’s name. There are various ulterior motives out there by which potential witnessesare guided to give evidence against you.

And law enforcement tends to know all about them and how to use them. After all, it is one of the things of which prosecutions are made.

Let’s take the most common such motive–fear. We turn our collective heads a bit to the north to learn about William M., an 18-year-old (hereinafter, the “Witness”) of New Hampshire. The Witness’s lawyer has announced that he has struck a deal with prosecutors to testify against two companions who allegedly led a home invasion that resulted in the killing of a nurse and the maiming of her 11-year-old daughter at New Hampshire house.

The Witness has agreed to plead guilty to being an accomplice to first-degree assault, murder conspiracy, and burglary conspiracy, and faces 30 to 60 years in prison, according to his Massachusetts lawyer. In exchange for the Witness’ cooperation, prosecutors have dropped the most serious charge he faced, being an accomplice to first-degree murder, which carries a maximum penalty of life without parole.
Continue reading