Commonwealth v. Proulx

In 1984, a jury convicted the defendant, David Proulx, of murder in the second degree for the death of his girlfriend’s two year old daughter, Tanya Parker (Tanya).1 In *4552002, a Superior Court judge allowed the defendant’s third motion for new trial after concluding that an error in the jury instructions on the third prong of malice created a substantial risk of a miscarriage of justice. The Commonwealth appeals.

A. Summary of the evidence. At trial, the Commonwealth proceeded on the theory that the defendant, who had a history of hitting Tanya, inflicted the fatal injury. The Commonwealth…