Prosecutors Thursday recounted in chilling detail the 2010 shootings of five people, including a 2-year-old boy, on a Mattapan street as the trial of the accused killers got under way.
Four of the victims were killed in what prosecutors said was a poorly thought-out robbery by three armed men who knew there were drugs in the Sutton Street home.
Their intent, prosecutors said, was to rob the home of money and drugs, but the robbery ended in one of the most shocking murders in recent Boston history.
“For reasons we may never know, all hell broke loose,” said Assistant District Attorney Edmond Zabin. He said the shootings lasted nearly a full minute and as many as 14 shots were fired at the victims.
He said jurors would hear and see evidence from forensic tests, cell phone records and witness accounts.
Defense Attorney John Amabile told the jury that he was worried prosecutors were trying to coax a guilty verdict through sympathy rather than the law. The defense attorneys told the jurors to cast their emotions aside and to examine the law.
Amabile also called the prosecution’s evidence “woefully inadequate” and said police were under incredible pressure to solve the highly publicized case.
Defense attorneys for the two suspects on trial also attacked the credibility of a third suspect who has agreed to testify in exchange for a plea deal.
The trial is expected to last between three and four weeks.
Emotional day for families of the victims
Dozens of relatives and friends of the victims packed the Suffolk Superior courtroom Thursday for the beginning of the trial.
As prosecutors recounted the fatal shootings, many people started to weep.
Three women left the courtroom sobbing as prosecutors described how the youngest victim was fatally shot in his mother’s arms.
Other people looked down and shook their heads as defense attorneys argued.
Suspects, victims
One of the city’s most horrific murders in years involves multiple victims and suspects.
Victims:
Amanihotep Smith, 2
Eyanna Flonory, 21
Simba Martin, 21
Levaughn Washum-Garrison, 22
Marcus Hurd, 32, was the only surviving victim. He is now a quadriplegic after being shot in the head, but he is expected to testify, according to the Globe.
Suspects:
Dwayne Moore, 34, of Mattapan, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and other crimes.
Edward Washington, 32, of Dorchester, is also charged with four counts of first-degree murder and other crimes.
Kimani Washington, 36, of Dorchester, is Edward Washington’s cousin. He is expected to testify against the other suspects for a plea deal that would put him in jail for less than 20 years. He is charged with home invasion and other crimes but not murder.
