Commonwealth v. DiRenzo

On February 21, 1994, in Rockland, several young men attacked Edward F. Sullivan, Jr., who died from the injuries inflicted. The defendants were indicted for the murder of Sullivan and, being juveniles at the time of the attack, were tried in the Hingham District Court, where they were convicted by a jury of delinquency by reason of second degree murder.2 The defendants have appealed, raising numerous issues. We reverse the convictions on the ground that the jury were improperly instructed with respect to the malice element in murder.

We summarize the evidence at trial. Early in the evening of…