Commonwealth v. DeJesus

After a Superior Court jury trial, the defendant was acquitted on a charge of first degree murder and convicted on a charge of arson of a dwelling. The charges stemmed from the early morning July 29, 1982, burning of a dwelling in Chelsea occupied by the defendant’s former girlfriend Leona Ortega and her children. One of Ortega’s children died in the fire. Represented by new counsel on appeal, the defendant argues that the arson charge must be retried because a portion of the prosecutor’s final argument was prejudicial. We affirm the conviction.

The criticized argument came about as follows.…