Commonwealth v. Lao

In 2002, a jury in the Superior Court convicted the defendant of murder in the first degree on a theory of deliberate premeditation for the strangulation death of his estranged wife. We affirmed the conviction and denied relief after reviewing the entire record pursuant to G. L. c. 278, § 33E. See Commonwealth v. Lao, 443 Mass 770 (2005). In January, 2006, the defendant, represented by new counsel, filed a motion for a new trial on the ground that his appellate attorney had been ineffective for failing to raise an argument that the admission of certain statements made by his estranged wife…