Commonwealth v. Monico

On April 14, 1983, the defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree of James Mortellite and of murder in the second degree of Jeffrey Connors. We accept the defendant’s argument that the trial judge committed reversible error in refusing to instruct the jury on the issue of the defendant’s criminal responsibility in accordance with Commonwealth v. McHoul, 352 Mass. 544 (1967). We address those issues that may recur at the new trial.

On December 24, 1981, the defendant, a security guard for the Wells Fargo Company, went target shooting with a friend and later attended a Christmas…