Commonwealth v. Johnson

On August 16, 19.97, at about 2 a.m., the victim appeared at a hospital emergency room. She was accompanied by a man, never identified, who told a nurse that he had found the victim on the side of a road. The victim, in turn, told medical personnel and the police how the defendant, with whom she resided, had beaten and terrorized her throughout the night. It appears from various pretrial hearings that, rather than testify against the defendant, the victim invoked her right against self-incrimination. The judge allowed the victim’s claim of privilege, and the Commonwealth proceeded to trial on…