Opinion ID: 1494221
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Summary of Facts: The Defense Case

Text: Capano testified in his own defense that Fahey had died as a result of an accidental shooting that occurred in the great room of his house on Thursday, June 27, 1996, the night that Fahey was last seen. Capano testified that after dinner he took her back to her apartment where she dropped off some groceries he had bought for her; he then drove her to his house to watch television, arriving shortly after 10:00 p.m. Later that night, with Fahey still at his house, Capano spoke to MacIntyre over the telephone. They had a brief and unpleasant conversation in which Capano told MacIntyre that she should not come over to his house that night, as she often did. Capano then testified that several minutes later, at around five minutes past 11:00 p.m., Fahey and Capano were sitting next to each other on a love seat in Capano's great room with the television on. According to Capano, while he and Fahey were talking on the love seat, MacIntyre arrived very upset, yelling and saying things like Who's this? and Is this why you couldn't see me? Capano said he got up from the love seat and stood to face MacIntyre, who continued yelling. Fahey began to put her pantyhose back on (Capano testified she had taken them off due to the heat) and collected her shoes, telling Capano that she wanted to leave immediately. MacIntyre then pulled out a gun and threatened to shoot herself. Capano claims that he grabbed her arm to prevent her, causing MacIntyre to accidentally shoot Fahey behind her right ear, killing her instantly. Fahey was lying on the love seat. Capano claims that he and MacIntyre attempted to perform CPR on Fahey and then realized she could not be saved. In order to protect himself and MacIntyre, Capano never called 911, an act that he referred to on the stand as cowardly and selfish. Capano testified that MacIntyre dropped the gun, and he took it, as well as the bullet clip that was in MacIntyre's car. Capano made sure MacIntyre was all right and sent her home at about 11:30 p.m. In the State's case on rebuttal, MacIntyre denied these claims and said she was not at Capano's house that night. Capano said he then cleaned up the blood and put Fahey's body in the cooler he had previously bought. Capano claimed that he went over to Fahey's apartment and arranged it to look as though she had been there. He testified that the next morning, he and Gerry dumped Fahey's body into the ocean off the side of Gerry's boat. Capano's testimony confirmed in many of its essentials the consciousness of guilt evidence put forward by the State. Capano also offered evidence to rebut the State's case based on motive and planning. Regarding his relationship with Fahey, he offered evidence that in the months before her death he and Fahey were no longer lovers but had developed a warm friendship. Emails between the two of them were offered to portray a relationship characterized by affectionate banter. Fahey confided in Capano regarding personal matters such as her therapy and would turn to him for help with items such as helping her install a new air conditioner. Capano gave innocent explanations for the evidence of planning offered by the State. He testified that he purchased the cooler as a gift for Gerry for use on his boat. He testified that he borrowed money from Gerry in order to surprise Fahey with a gift of $25,000 in cash so that she could get help for her eating disorder. He testified that he did not ask Gerry for a gun or ask to borrow his boat or mention anything about extortionists, but that these were in essence the product of Gerry's confused imaginings resulting from Gerry's drug use. In this regard, Capano presented expert testimony explaining the phenomenon of confabulation in heavy drug users. He also testified that MacIntyre bought the gun for her own protection against his advice. To explain his decision not to reveal Fahey's fate to her family and to investigators, Capano testified that he kept silent in order to protect MacIntyre, with whom he was deeply in love. In support of this contention he offered letters written between him and MacIntyre while Capano was in jail awaiting trial. It is against this factual backdrop that we now turn to the arguments that Capano raises on appeal.