Commonwealth v. Avila

A jury convicted the defendant, Hector Guerrero Avila, of murder in the first degree on the theories of premeditation and extreme atrocity or cruelty and possession of a firearm without a license. On appeal, the defendant argues that the judge erred (1) in admitting testimonial and documentary evidence that had been introduced by the Commonwealth to rebut a defense based on the allegedly inadequate police investigation (Bowden defense1); (2) in admitting evidence used by the Commonwealth to prove deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity or cruelty; (3) in admitting evidence about the…