Commonwealth v. Reynolds

A jury found the defendant, John Reynolds, guilty of murder in the first degree on the theories of extreme atrocity or cruelty and premeditation, G. L. c. 265, § 1, and of wilfully and maliciously burning a motor vehicle, G. L. c. 266, § 5. The defendant appeals. The defendant claims the trial judge erred in restricting his cross-examination of the chief police investigator on deficiencies in the police investigation, and in denying him the right to call a police witness on that issue. We agree. We conclude a new trial is required.

We set forth the background facts, which we will supplement in…