Commonwealth v. Silva-Santiago

A jury convicted the defendant Jesus Silva-Santiago of murder in the first degree on the theory of extreme atrocity or cruelty.1 Represented by new counsel on appeal, the defendant argues error in (1) the denial of his pretrial motion to suppress out-of-court photographic identifications; (2) the exclusion of evidence pertaining to the inadequacy of the police investigation; and (3) the judge’s instructions to the jury. We reject the defendant’s arguments, but conclude that he is entitled to reversal of his conviction and a new trial under G. L. c. 278, § 33E, because of misstatements of the…