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Commonwealth v. Squailia3/2/1999
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The defendant testified at the trial that the killing was accidental. He said it occurred when the victim had come home late, and they had argued in the master bedroom over her continuation of an extramarital affair which she had promised to stop. The defendant said that he had retrieved his handgun and loaded it with two bullets. He testified that he was upset and unhappy and started waving the handgun around. At some point, he began to have a "spell" of the type he frequently had before. He said that, during the spell, he began "sliding down on the bureau," the handgun went off, and the victim was shot by a single bullet. The defendant stated to the jury that, when his spell wore off, he realized, for the first time, that he might have shot the victim.
The defendant told his ex-wife and the forensic psychologist who examined him and testified on his behalf, that he did not intentionally shoot his wife and that the killing was an accident. He repeatedly denied being angry with the victim during their argument. He testified unequivocally, that, while he was upset, depressed, and crying, he was not angry with the victim when she confirmed his suspicions that she had not broken off her extramarital affair and stated that she was going to leave him. His expert witness testified with respect to the shooting that, the defendant's " ery serious psychological problems . . . culminated at that moment in time where he was overwhelmed by . . . emotion . . . and the gun discharged accidentally" (emphasis added).
Voluntary manslaughter is an unlawful killing which occurs in circumstances which negate the element of malice. See Commonwealth v. Acevedo, 427 Mass. 714, 715-716 (1998); Commonwealth v. Jefferson, 416 Mass. 258, 262 (1993). Put differently, voluntary manslaughter is an intentional killing, which is mitigated by extenuating circumstances. See Commonwealth v. Jefferson, supra at 262, 264. An accidental killing is, by definition, an unintentional killing, and as such is excused by law. See Commonwealth v. Lowe, 391 Mass. 97, 110-111, cert. denied, 469 U.S. 840 (1984); Commonwealth v. Knight, 37 Mass. App. Ct. 92, 104 & n.7 (1994). Voluntary manslaughter and an accidental killing are mutually exclusive concepts in the criminal law of homicide. The evidence, considered most favorably to the defendant, provided no reasonable basis to warrant a voluntary manslaughter instruction. The Judge correctly denied the instruction requested by the defendant's trial counsel.
3. The defendant's motion for a new trial argued that he should be retried because his trial counsel provided him with ineffective assistance. The trial Judge had retired from the bench by the time the motion was presented, and it was decided by another Judge in the Superior Court. This Judge evaluated the allegations in the motion and its supporting documents in light of the complete trial transcript and the motions and papers in the case and did not hold a hearing on the motion. He stated his reasons for denying the motion in a lengthy memorandum of decision. In that memorandum, he noted that the defendant's trial counsel was "an experienced, skilled and energetic criminal defense attorney who regularly represents defendants in murder and other serious felony cases." We have examined the defendant's appellate argument concerning the motion under the standard governing claims of ineffective assistance of counsel in the case of a conviction of murder in the first degree. See Commonwealth v. Parker, 420 Mass. 242, 245-246 (1995), quoting Commonwealth v. Wright, 411 Mass. 678, 682 (1992).
(a) The defendant made statements to the police shortly after the murder when he went to the police station to tur
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