Opinion ID: 613009
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Phone Call and Turner's Testimony

Text: Perhaps the key testimony at trial came from Arthur Turner, the son of Wright's on-and-off-again girlfriend, Thelma. Wright and Turner had known each other for several years prior to the crime, living in the same house in Delaware for part of that time. On the night of the murder, Turner got into a car accident while returning from a trip. He arrived home in Springfield at around 1 p.m. on May 14, tired from having been up all night dealing with the accident. At about 4:30 in the afternoon, he received a phone call from someone who identified himself as Ed. The caller said he had killed someone, provided Anderson's address, and described the victim as a white bitch who was on TIC. [2] He provided additional details about the murder weapon and added that Turner should watch the news or go get the newspaper and then he would know who the victim was. Turner learned of Anderson's murder through media reports and told his sister about the phone call, which he attributed to Wright. His sister told their brother, who notified the police. Turner provided information consistent with what he had told his sister to the police and he signed a police statement on May 16. During grand jury proceedings on June 4, Turner's police statement was read into the record, and Turner reaffirmed the truth of everything in it. Some six months later, after Turner's mother and Wright had reconciled, Turner changed his story. He still said he had received a telephone call from a person who identified himself as Ed and that the caller provided information about the murder, but he said he was no longer positive that the caller was in fact Wright. Still, Wright's first name is Edward, and Wright was the only person Turner knew named Ed. Phone records confirmed that a 36-minute phone call was made from Wright's sister's home in Delaware to Turner's number in Springfield at 4:41 p.m. on May 14. Wright's sister testified that she made all phone calls in question that day, but the commonwealth rebutted with testimony from Turner's aunt, who said that Wright called her that day and asked for Turner's telephone number. Given Turner's partial recantation, the commonwealth moved in limine to admit Turner's prior inconsistent grand jury testimony for its truth under Commonwealth v. Daye, 393 Mass. 55, 469 N.E.2d 483 (1984). Wright's counsel filed a written opposition arguing that Turner's grand jury testimony was inadmissible, citing Daye and requesting a voir dire. The trial judge conducted a voir dire and concluded that Turner's prior inconsistent grand jury testimony was admissible for its truth under Daye.