Commonwealth v. Colton
477 Mass. 1
| Mass. | 2017

Background

  • In August 1998 defendant Nicholas Colton (age 21) stabbed his cousin Robert McDonald to death; the victim suffered 86 stab wounds and his body was left in Minute Man National Historical Park.
  • Investigators tied Heymann’s vehicle to the scene (blood in the car, matching tire tracks, Heymann’s fingerprint in victim’s blood); defendant led police to a discarded knife after giving a recorded statement.
  • At the Newton police station Colton waived Miranda rights, spoke first to Trooper Boyle, then spoke alone briefly with his uncle Richard D’Angelo before giving a recorded statement admitting the killing (claimed self‑defense; later said he "blacked out" and had taken Klonopin and alcohol).
  • Defense at trial conceded the stabbing but argued lack of criminal responsibility (mental disease/defect; experts testified to intermittent explosive disorder and temporal lobe epilepsy); prosecution argued first‑degree murder (extreme atrocity/cruelty and deliberate premeditation); jury convicted.
  • Colton appealed, raising suppression (voluntariness) of his statement, joint venture instruction, admission of a hidden baseball bat and knives, intoxication/insanity jury instruction, juror strikes, prosecutor’s closing, constitutionality of mandatory LWOP given mental impairment, and sought relief under G. L. c. 278, § 33E.

Issues

Issue Plaintiff's Argument (Commonwealth) Defendant's Argument (Colton) Held
Voluntariness / Motion to suppress Statement was voluntary: Colton lucid, waived Miranda, asked to speak alone, no coercion by uncle Statement involuntary: mental impairment, intoxication, and coercion by uncle D'Angelo overbore his will Denied: judges credited recordings and testimony; Commonwealth proved voluntariness beyond reasonable doubt
Joint venture instruction Supported by evidence of Heymann’s presence, concealment, common false story, assistance disposing evidence Insufficient evidence that Heymann knowingly participated Affirmed: any reasonable hypothesis of evidence supported instruction
Admission of baseball bat and knives (prior bad acts) Admissible to show intent, plan, means, and corroborate that defendant returned home for a knife Unduly prejudicial propensity evidence Affirmed: probative for intent/means and outweighed prejudice; not plain propensity use
Instruction on intoxication and mental disease/defect Properly instructed jury to consider mental disease independent of voluntary intoxication or activation of latent defect Instruction might let jury discount mental‑disease defense because of voluntary intoxication Affirmed: instruction mirrored later model language (Berry/DiPadova) and avoided the forbidden inference
Juror empanelment / strikes for cause Jurors were impartial after voir dire; judge exercised discretion Several jurors (travel, ambivalent on insanity, family in law enforcement) should have been struck Affirmed: no abuse of discretion in empaneling; travel juror later replaced appropriately
Prosecutor’s closing argument re: medical‑record incident Use to rebut defense expert’s opinion about criminal responsibility Impermissible substantive use of medical record / hearsay Affirmed: prosecutor used defendant‑introduced records to rebut expert; limiting instruction cured prejudice
Constitutionality of mandatory LWOP State argued Miller/Diatchenko limited to juveniles; LWOP constitutional for adults Mandatory life without parole cruel when defendant had serious mental impairment Rejected: Miller/Diatchenko apply only to juveniles; no extension to 21‑year‑old
Section 33E relief Not applicable; conviction and sentence supported by record Sought reduction or new trial under c.278, §33E Denied: no basis to set aside verdict or reduce guilt

Key Cases Cited

  • Commonwealth v. Tremblay, 460 Mass. 199 (2011) (confession admissible only if voluntary)
  • Commonwealth v. Selby, 420 Mass. 656 (1995) (totality of circumstances test for overborne will)
  • Commonwealth v. Mandile, 397 Mass. 410 (1986) (factors for voluntariness include age, intelligence, interrogation details)
  • Commonwealth v. Monroe, 472 Mass. 461 (2015) (Commonwealth must prove voluntariness beyond a reasonable doubt)
  • Commonwealth v. Beland, 436 Mass. 273 (2002) (awareness of Miranda waiver consequences relevant to voluntariness)
  • Commonwealth v. Silanskas, 433 Mass. 678 (2001) (instruction proper if supported by any hypothesis of the evidence)
  • Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012) (mandatory LWOP unconstitutional for juveniles)
  • Diatchenko v. District Attorney for the Suffolk Dist., 466 Mass. 655 (2013) (Massachusetts art.26 holding juvenile mandatory LWOP unconstitutional)
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