Commonwealth v. Rosario

The defendant has appealed from a conviction of arson of a dwelling (G. L. c. 266, § 1) and from eight convictions of murder in the second degree (G. L. c. 265, § 1). Eight persons perished when a three-story tenement in Lowell went up in flames on March 5, 1982.

The defendant was convicted on the basis of three written confessions which he gave the police shortly after the fire.1 The last, and most explicit, reads as follows: “I would like to add to my statement that Felix Garcia, Gardo Garcia, and I went to the Laconia [Bar] together. Felix and I did not meet Gardo at the Laconia as I first…