Commonwealth v. Emeny, 463 Mass. 138

Patricia Clark was murdered in Lowell in 1985; the defendant, her former boyfriend, became a suspect and fled after the murder.
A 2005 review of items found in the defendant’s vehicle linked him to the crime, leading to indictment and a 2007 first-degree murder conviction.
The defense challenged trial evidence as insufficient, and raised multiple trial errors including admissibility of expert testimony and a consciousness-of-guilt instruction.
The Commonwealth presented a substitute medical examiner (Evans) who relied on an autopsy report and photographs not admissible in direct testimony.
Key tangible links included a jewelry box and a ring that matched a model linked to Clark, tying the defendant to the crime scene.
The court ultimately affirmed the conviction and found no grounds to grant a new trial or reduce the verdict.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Autopsy report and substitute testimony admissibility	Commonwealth contends substitute testimony is permissible when grounded in admissible baseline findings	Autopsy report and related findings cannot be admitted via substitute testimony	Admissibility error but harmless; no miscarriage of justice
Redacted statement and potential hearsay	Statements showing sequence and corroborating details are probative	Redactions and extrajudicial accusations risk hearsay and confrontation issues	No reversible error; evidence was cumulative and cross-examination available
DNA testimony and relevancy of timing question	DNA context supports guilt narrative by showing absence of defendant’s DNA at scene	Question suggestion of time-related significance was irrelevant or prejudicial	No error; question extended existing testimony and favored defense exposure
Consciousness of guilt instruction	Flight evidence warranted; shows consciousness of guilt	Insufficient evidence of flight to justify instruction	Warranted instruction; evidence supported consciousness-of-guilt theory
Sufficiency of the evidence	Evidence, including motive, opportunity, and means, supports conviction	Evidence insufficient to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt	Evidence sufficient; conviction affirmed

Commonwealth v. Avila, 454 Mass. 744 (Mass. 2009) (limits on substitute examiner testimony referencing autopsy findings)
Commonwealth v. Nardi, 452 Mass. 379 (Mass. 2008) (limits on use of autopsy findings by substitute examiners)
Commonwealth v. Wright, 411 Mass. 678 (Mass. 1992) (standard for reviewing potential miscarriages of justice on appeal)
Commonwealth v. Housen, 458 Mass. 702 (Mass. 2011) (miscarriage of justice standard in evidentiary error review)
Commonwealth v. Womack, 457 Mass. 268 (Mass. 2010) (extrajudicial accusatory statements and hearsay concerns)