Commonwealth v. Riley

After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on a theory of extreme atrocity or cruelty for the murder of his four-year-old daughter, who died from intoxication due to sedating drugs found in her system, or from pneumonia, or from a combination of both intoxication and pneumonia. Defendant appealed his conviction and the denial of his motions for a new trial and for funds to retain a toxicologist. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the conviction and the orders denying Defendant’s motions, holding (1) the trial judge did not abuse his discretion in denying Defendant’s claim that his counsel was ineffective in handling the issue of toxicological evidence at trial, and trial counsel did not otherwise render ineffective assistance; (2) the evidence of malice was sufficient to support the conviction; (3) the prosecutor properly used and commented on evidence of acts Defendant committed after the charged offense to show intent or state of mind at the time of the charged offense; and (4) the trial judge did not err in denying Defendant’s motion for a new trial without an evidentiary hearing and in denying Defendant’s posttrial motion for funds to retain a forensic toxicologist.View "Commonwealth v. Riley" on Justia Law