Commonwealth v. Repoza

In the early morning of June 10, 1978, during the violent aftermath of a high school graduation party, John P. Grogan died of a knife wound to his heart. The defendant, Richard Repoza, was apprehended at the scene, was indicted by a grand jury for murder in the first degree, and, on November 2, 1978, following a nine-day jury trial, was found guilty of Grogan’s murder in the second degree. On this appeal pursuant to G. L. c. 278, §§ 33A-33G, the defendant assigns a number of errors allegedly committed by the trial judge during the course of the trial, and in addition seeks to invoke the power…