Commonwealth v. Estremera

Some time after midnight on June 21, 1979, Angel Luis Allende was shot in the face and killed by the defendant, Hiram Estremera, a police officer with the Worcester Housing Authority. The killing occurred while Allende was handcuffed and sitting in the back seat of a police cruiser driven by Estremera. The key issue at trial was Estremera’s criminal responsibility. A jury found Estremera guilty of murder in the second degree. He appeals pursuant to G. L. c. 278, §§ 33A-33G, claiming error in the empanelment process, in the trial judge’s instructions on malice, and in the judge’s failure to…