Opinion ID: 203863
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Analysis of the SJC Opinion

Text: As our sister court has noted, [a]lthough circumstantial evidence alone can support a conviction, there are times that it amounts to only a reasonable speculation and not to sufficient evidence. Newman, 543 F.3d at 796. This is such a case. The instant facts may support a reasonable speculation that O'Laughlin was the assailant, but not sufficient evidence to establish his guilt. Taken together, the circumstantial evidence in this case, even when drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of the prosecution, does not permit any rational jury to conclude that O'Laughlin was the assailant beyond a reasonable doubt. Specifically, the evidence that O'Laughlin acted upon a financial motive to commit the attack is weak at best. A jury could permissibly conclude that he needed money to acquire crack cocaine, giving him reason to break into Mrs. Kotowski's apartment, a person whom he knew had money. However, Mrs. Kotowski testified that nothing of value was taken and no items, not even expensive jewelry in plain view, were disturbed. The SJC accounted for this fact by stating that the jury could draw a reasonable inference that the defendant was frightened off before he could steal anything when he heard the neighbor [Whittemore] speaking. O'Laughlin II, 843 N.E.2d at 627 n. 11. Even if the assailant deduced that the neighbor was calling the police in response to the attack, [18] no rational juror could conclude that the placement of this phone call frightened him off given the volume and duration of Mrs. Kotowski's screams. Moreover, the assailant's actions are inconsistent with O'Laughlin's purported financial motive in view of the savage beating Mrs. Kotowski suffered at the hands of the assailant, an attack involving at least fifteen to twenty blows that nearly broke every bone in her face and skull. If the assailant were motivated by money, a few blows to incapacitate her would have been sufficient. With respect to the opportunity to commit the crime, O'Laughlin had a master key and there were no signs of forced entry; thus, one possible inference is that O'Laughlin used his master key to enter Mrs. Kotowski's apartment. It is notable, however, that several others on the maintenance staff possessed a master key. Also, Mrs. Kotowski could have let someone familiar to her into the apartment. With respect to the means for the attack, a jury could permissibly find that the aluminum bat found in the woods was O'Laughlin's bat given that his name was on the bat and that he admitted to owning the bat at one time. Yet, there was little evidence connecting the aluminum bat, a non-unique item in a residential complex, to the crime scene apart from the fact that it was found twenty-five yards from the residential complex the following day and the use of such an object was consistent with Mrs. Kotowski's injuries. [19] Of course, any bat likely would have been consistent with her injuries. Also, Whittemore, a carpenter, testified that he heard wood hitting wood, as opposed to hearing the sound of a hollow aluminum bat, when he was awakened. Furthermore, wooden bats were found in Mrs. Kotowski's estranged husband's garage. We next turn to O'Laughlin's consciousness of guilt, which the SJC considered the strongest evidence in favor of reinstating the conviction. [20] When viewed in context, this evidence is minimally probative on the question of whether O'Laughlin was the assailant. Notwithstanding the fact that it was just after 2:00 a.m., the SJC cited to O'Laughlin's uneasy and distant demeanor and his unwillingness to look Officers Tierney and Skowron in the eye when they confronted him just minutes after the attack. However, both officers, even though they were responding to reports of a possible assault, did not consider O'Laughlin's behavior suspicious at the time. Indeed, they initially believed he was the reporting party and after asking him a few brief questions they left the area. Even the fact that O'Laughlin was only clad in boxers in near-freezing temperature did not give them pause after he explained to them that he was awakened by animal screams and had gone outside to place a stick in the dumpster, a fact Officer Tierney promptly verified. Also, the SJC explained that a jury could find it implausible that O'Laughlin would have gone outside without putting on at least minimal clothing if his true reason for going outside was to check for animals. Yet, Officer Tierney stated that O'Laughlin appeared unfazed by the cold and O'Laughlin's alibi shows that he did not intend to stay outside for a very long time. The other consciousness of guilt evidence cited by the SJC  O'Laughlin's reluctance to be interviewed by the police, the inconsistent versions of how he was awoken, his reaction to the neighbor's report of an assault, the fact that he was agitated during the interview, and his reaction when the police wanted to swab his closet door  while not helpful to his case, are not enough, even when considered in combination with other circumstantial evidence, to allow a jury to permissibly conclude O'Laughlin's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. With respect to this evidence, the fact that O'Laughlin was reluctant to come down to the police station and displayed some agitation during the interview has minimal probative value in determining whether O'Laughlin was the assailant. Although this behavior could indicate consciousness of guilt for some crime, such as possessing crack cocaine (which the evidence shows he admitted to being concerned about), it is an impermissible inferential leap for a jury to find this behavior significantly probative of whether O'Laughlin committed such a brutal attack. [21] Likewise, his indifferent reaction to his neighbor informing him of the attack the following morning may bear on whether he was a compassionate person, but has little probative value in assessing O'Laughlin's guilt. Admittedly, the conflicting versions O'Laughlin gave the police as to how he was awoken and his reaction to the police's request to swab his closet door when they were searching his home could be probative evidence linking O'Laughlin to the crime. However, in light of O'Laughlin's concerns that the police would discover his drug use, this evidence was insufficient to serve as the primary basis upon which the jury could rely to conclude O'Laughlin's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Lastly, the SJC cited bruises and marks on O'Laughlin's face as evidence from which the jury could infer that an altercation occurred between O'Laughlin and Mrs. Kotowski. However, these bruises and marks have minimal, if any, probative force given the fact that they were not even noted by Officers Tierney and Skowron when they were responding to an assault just minutes after the attack. It bears repeating that the prosecution had to rely on circumstantial evidence because no physical or DNA evidence linked O'Laughlin to the attack despite the copious amount of blood at the crime scene. Considering the large amount of blood, it is difficult to fathom how O'Laughlin was able to avoid having any blood or other DNA evidence connect him to Mrs. Kotowski. Given the insufficiency of the evidence, circumstantial or otherwise, tying O'Laughlin to the attack, we conclude that a rational jury could not find O'Laughlin's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.