Commonwealth v. Dostie

A Hampshire County jury found the defendant, Sandra Dostie, guilty of murder in the first degree of her five year old stepson, Eric Dostie, by reason of deliberate premeditation. On appeal, the defendant argues that, because the Commonwealth’s case rested exclusively on circumstantial evidence, the judge’s instructions on the law governing inferences created a substantial likelihood of a miscarriage of justice. The defendant also asks that we reduce the verdict pursuant to G. L. c. 278, § 33E. We conclude that the judge properly instructed the jury on the law governing inferences, and that…