Man charged under 'social host' law
Associated Press
WARREN, Mass. --A Warren man has been arrested under the state's "social host" responsibility law in connection with a car accident that killed a 19-year-old woman, according to two published reports.
Marc T. Holly, 46, allegedly was home when his teenage son and friends allegedly were drinking alcohol at his home on Dec. 29, police said. Among the friends were two 19-year-old women who left and later were involved in a fatal accident.
Holly was set to be arraigned on Wednesday. Warren Police Chief Glenn F. McKiel said Holly was cited under a new law that allows charges to be brought if someone allows an underage person to possess alcohol on their property.
The charge is only a misdemeanor.
Autumn J. Motyka of Warren was charged with motor vehicle homicide while under the influence of alcohol. The accident killed her friend, Abbigayle A. Perrin, also of Warren, who was in the passenger seat. Police say Motyka crashed her car off Route 67 in Palmer just before 2 a.m. Dec. 30.
The Republican of Springfield and the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester reported the story in their Wednesday editions.
Holly denies any responsibility and would not confirm there was drinking at his house, McKiel told the Republican.
The case would be prosecuted under Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte, who recently declined to prosecute a 20-year-old man whom police suspected had allowed two Southborough sisters to drink liquor in his house before they were killed driving home.
Conte's decision followed a phone call from Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly to Conte to remind him that the autopsy reports for Shauna M. Murphy, 17, and her sister, Meghan C. Murphy, 15, were private.
Alcohol eyed in fatal crash
LORI STABILE; STAFFThe Republican (Springfield, MA), lstabile@repub.com
The driver is already
facing charges of driving negligently, speeding and a marked lanes
violation.
PALMER - The 19-year-old driver involved in a fatal car crash on Route 67
may have been drinking alcohol at a Warren house party before the crash,
Palmer Police Chief Robert P. Frydryk said.
Autumn J. Motyka of Pleasant Street, West Warren, is facing a new charge of
motor vehicle homicide while operating under the influence, a felony. She
will be in Palmer District Court next month on the charge.
Warren Police Chief Glenn F. McKiel declined comment this week, citing an
ongoing investigation.
"I believe the chief when he says he's going to investigate it to the best
of his ability," Frydryk said yesterday.
Motyka was heading south in a 1996 Nissan Maxima on Boston Road (Route 67)
around 2 a.m. on Dec. 30 when she lost control of her car, crossed the
center line and flipped it over the guardrail. Her passenger, Abbigayle
Perrin, 19, of Warren, was pronounced dead at Baystate Medical Center in
Springfield. Motyka's injuries were minor.
Motyka is also facing charges of driving negligently so as to endanger,
speeding and a marked lanes violation.
If additional charges come from Warren, through the "Social Host
Responsibility Law," against the alleged host of the party, that case would
be heard in a Worcester County court. Warren is in Worcester County, while
Palmer is in Hampden County.
In a similar case in Southborough, also in Worcester County, two sisters
were killed on Oct. 13 when their sport utility vehicle slammed into a pole.
Worcester County John J. Conte refused to release copies of the girls'
autopsy reports to local police, blocking their efforts to file charges of
providing alcohol to a minor.
Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly told Conte that he did not have to release
the reports for Shauna, 17, and Meghan Murphy, 15, which would reveal if
they were drunk at the time. Their father contributed to Reilly's campaign.
Northborough Police Chief Mark Leahy said police were considering charges of
illegal procurement of alcohol for a minor, and wanted to view the autopsy
reports. Conte later declined to prosecute a 20-year-old man whom police
suspected had allowed the Murphys to drink liquor in his house before they
were killed.
According to information on www.mass.gov, the state's Web site, if an adult
provides alcohol to underage drinkers, the adult could be criminally
prosecuted and face a fine of up to $2,000, one year in jail, or both.
"As an adult, if you provide alcohol to children under the age of 21, the
consequences can be severe and far-reaching . . . you may also be sued, and
a jury may decide whether you are civilly liable and how much you will have
to pay for injuries caused by your guests," stated an editorial on the
state's Web site by Essex District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
January 19, 2006
Police eye alcohol link to crash -
Party at Warren home probed
Kim Ring, Worcester
Telegram & Gazette (MA)
The driver of a car
involved in a fatal accident in Palmer last month may have been drinking at
a party in a Warren home before the deadly crash, according to Palmer police
.
Palmer Police Chief Robert Frydryk said his officers found evidence that the
driver, Autumn Motyka, 19, of Pleasant Street, Warren, had been at a party
in Warren the night of the accident.
The evidence has been
given to Warren police, Chief Frydryk said. It could lead to a test of the
state's "Social Host" law if Warren police seek charges against the alleged
host of the party.
Warren Police Chief Glenn F. McKiel said yesterday that he would not comment
because of an "ongoing investigation."
Miss Motyka, who suffered minor injuries in the crash, is being charged with
felony motor vehicle homicide - driving under the influence in connection
with the Dec. 30 accident that killed her friend Abbigayle Perrin, 19, of
408 Main St., Warren. Miss Motyka will be in Palmer District Court for a
hearing on the charges next month, police said.
Miss Motyka is also facing other motor vehicle charges in connection with
the crash. That case will be heard in Hampden County. Warren is part of
Worcester County and falls into Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte's
jurisdiction, so if a violation of the social host law is alleged to have
occurred in that town, the decision on whether to prosecute would be up to
him.
The crash happened at 1:45 a.m. when Miss Motyka's 1996 Nissan Maxima was
headed south on Route 67. The car crossed the center line near the Langevin
farm, went through a guard rail and rolled over, coming to rest on its roof.
Rebekah A. Perrin, Miss Perrin's mother, said she does not blame Miss Motyka
for her daughter's death but wants the host of the party held accountable if
the teens were allowed to drink.
"I know Autumn would never have done anything to hurt Abbi," she said about
her daughter's closest friend. She believes her daughter's life was
sacrificed so that other young people might learn from what happened. Her
daughter was an honor student who opposed using drugs and driving drunk. She
was slated to be interviewed for a job caring for handicapped people and
hoped to work as a counselor for children some day.
Ms. Perrin said she was told her daughter's hospital tests revealed trace
amounts of alcohol in her system that were barely detectable but she did not
know the results of Miss Motyka's blood tests.
She said she places blame for the accident on those who may have held a
party and allowed the girls to drive away in the early hours of the morning.
"As a parent, if I came home, found teenagers partying in my house and told
them to get out, I would expect to be held responsible if something
happened," she said. "(The hosts) are probably the only ones I'm angry
with."
If Warren police decide to pursue charges under the state's "Social Host"
law, the matter would be brought to Mr. Conte, who along with Attorney
General Thomas F. Reilly, has come under fire for the handling of an Oct. 13
accident in Southboro that killed two teenage sisters and injured a third
girl.
Shauna M. Murphy, 17, was driving a Land Rover that slammed into a utility
pole on Northboro Road in Southboro about 1 a.m., killing her and her
15-year-old sister, Meghan C. Murphy.
Mr. Conte announced recently that he would not seek charges against a
20-year-old at whose home the sisters were allegedly drinking before the
deadly crash. That announcement came after Mr. Reilly contacted the district
attorney to remind him that the results of autopsies and toxicology reports
are private. The victims' parents had donated $300 to Mr. Reilly's campaign.
He is planning to run for governor.
Northboro Police Chief Mark K. Leahy had questioned whether the host of the
party could be cited even though witnesses said the victims had brought
vodka to the party in water bottles. Chief Leahy wondered whether a case for
`allowing' a minor to consume alcohol could be brought against the
20-year-old. Mr. Conte advised that there was not suitable evidence for a
case, Chief Leahy wrote in his report.
January 19, 2006
Delicate line between privacy, reporting
By
William B. Ketter, Editor-in-Chief,
Eagle-Tribune Newspapers
How much privacy, if any, should people be allowed when the press spotlight
falls on them by chance or by din of circumstance?
That's the difficult question many in the news media wrestled with last week
in covering the contretemps surrounding Attorney General Tom Reilly in
Boston and Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito in Washington.
The answer was in the voluminous coverage. But why private individuals in
both stories | friends of Reilly and the wife of Alito | attracted attention
deserves an explanation in light of the withering criticism on talk radio
and in letters to the editor about the media's performance.
To understand how we draw the line between the right to privacy and the need
to report news, it is important to know that the press is not monolithic.
News organizations don't put their heads together to decide the story line.
Each paper or station has its own ideas about what's important and what's
not.
Yet some stories, through gradually unfolding details, have an infectious
appeal, building momentum as they move from news cycle to news cycle. And
even though public figures often make the initial news, private people
connected to them also become part of the story.
Reilly and Alito are good examples.
The mid-October car crash that killed teenage sisters Shauna and Megan
Murphy of Southborough thrust Reilly into the news recently when the press
learned he'd contacted the local district attorney's office to point out
that autopsy reports, including blood-alcohol levels, are private documents.
He said he was simply trying to spare the Murphy family from further
publicity and grief.
But his call had the opposite effect. It resulted in the Murphys needing to
endure several days of news and interminable talk show chatter about the
propriety of Reilly's involvement. Specifics that emerged nearly three
months after the accident gave legs to the story:
-- District Attorney John Conte decided not to pursue charges against the
party host because it appeared he did not supply the alcohol to the Murphy
girls.
-- Northborough police Chief Mark Leahy had told the press he thought there
was a possible case against the host and found Reilly's call to Conte
"unusual." He later went radio silent about the matter.
-- The Murphys were friends of Reilly and contributed $300 to his
gubernatorial campaign at a fundraiser hosted by their millionaire neighbor,
Bob Davis, last summer.
-- Davis, founder of the Web search company Lycos, called Reilly after the
fatal accident to inquire about the public nature of autopsy reports. Reilly
claims Davis did not ask him to intervene in the case.
-- Gov. Mitt Romney and Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey concluded that woven together,
these details added up to an attempt to hush up a tragic story about the
consequences of teenage drinking and driving. Reilly, in turn, accused them
of "politicizing" a family's horrific loss.
Talk shows and blogs buzzed all week with the fallout. Some callers and
e-mailers described the Murphys as innocent victims of unwanted publicity at
a time they were trying to cope with unbelievable grief. Others agreed that
the press needed to shed light on the complete story even if it did intrude
on the Murphys' desire to be left alone.
For the press, though, there was little choice. It was impossible to tell
the story without mentioning the connection between Reilly and the Murphys
and Davis. To simply ignore that tie would only add to suspicions of a
cover-up. They were fused to the story.
A different set of circumstances led to disparaging of the press for
detailed coverage of Alito's wife leaving the Senate hearing room in tears
Wednesday during a critical line of questioning about the Supreme Court
nominee's membership in a Princeton alumni group.
Television and newspaper cameras captured the spontaneous emotion, with
close-ups appearing on the evening news and in the next day's papers.
Critics wondered why the media would "exploit" such a personal moment when
Mrs. Alito did not intend to attract attention to herself.
No doubt that was so. Yet her very human reaction became a significant
moment in that day's story. It showed just how deeply affected she was by
the questions from Sen. Kennedy and others regarding her husband's views
about minorities and women. The press was not taking advantage of the
situation; it was recording what happened | the same as it reported the
sharp exchange between Kennedy and Sen. Specter, the chairman of the
Judiciary Committee.
Nearly every controversial story involving private people has the potential
for complaints about the press overstepping the boundaries of privacy.
Journalists know that, and most of them, if not all, try to set the line at
detail and conduct that is relevant and newsworthy.
Just where that line is for people accidentally caught up in a story can
also depend on the standards of the individual news organization and the
professionals who run it. That's why we wish critics would not paint
everybody in the press with the same broad brush when they attack the media.
We would like to be judged on our individual performance.
William B. Ketter is editor-in-chief of The Eagle-Tribune newspapers.
Contact him at bketter@eagletribune.com or (978) 946-2233.
Signs of a meltdown
Tom Reilly's gubernatorial campaign might not be toast, but it certainly isn't the Tuscan bruschetta it was several months ago.
In the brick oven of Massachusetts politics, Reilly's taking a lot of heat.
And if the state attorney general's shake-and-bake behavior continues, he could kiss goodbye any chance he has of being elected governor in November 2006.
History -- and the odds -- are already stacked against Reilly without a self-implosion.
Only one attorney general -- Republican Edward Brooke -- has won higher office in Massachusetts in five decades. He became a U.S. senator.
No other AG has come close to capturing the governor's office.
Remember AG Robert H. Quinn, the former House speaker? He lost the Democratic primary to Michael S. Dukakis in 1974.
Remember AG Francis X. Bellotti? He lost the Democratic Primary to BU President John Silber in 1990.
Remember AG Scott Harshbarger? He lost the general election to Republican Paul Cellucci in 1998.
Remember former AG Elliot Richardson? He couldn't get past Ray Shamie in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.
Why do attorneys general have such a hard time ascending the political ladder?
It's simple. AG's like to put other people on the spot, but don't like it when similar scrutiny is applied to them.
Once an AG shows a lack of leadership -- or credibility -- voters tune out and turn off.
Reilly is on the edge of a freefall with the public.
Over the past two weeks, as Reilly's phone-call controversy raged, the AG has matched criticism from Republicans and the media with one Muskie-esque performance after another.
With tear-swollen red eyes, Reilly has assailed critics for questioning his integrity over a call he made to Worcester District Attorney John Conte.
According to Reilly, he told Conte that release of autopsy records concerning a friend's two teenage daughters would add to the aggrieved family's pain. The girls died in a single-car crash. The local police suspected the underage girls had been drinking, and wanted the autopsy records.
Conte decided to seal the records. In doing so, Conte killed the police investigation. The police chief felt it was important to know how the girls obtained the liquor and, if necessary, file charges.
By state law, autopsy records are private; Conte had no reason to release them to anyone except the victims' family.
So did Reilly really have to call Conte just to tell the DA what he must have undoubtedly already known?
That's the key question.
From there it's easy to speculate -- rightly and wrongly -- that Reilly's call might have been intended to influence the DA into stopping the police investigation.
When a district attorney is perceived as withholding records of vital interest to a local police chief -- as a favor to an AG who is doing a favor for a friend -- it leads to one conclusion: Government isn't on the level.
True or not, Reilly is now a partner to that perception.
Personally, I don't think Operation Dial the DA, alone, will topple Reilly's gubernatorial campaign. However, it adds to a growing list of miscalculations that are damaging Reilly's reputation.
Here they are:
First, several months ago, Reilly announced his endorsement of an in-state tuition bill for illegal immigrants. The AG's purported defiance of state and federal law won praise from cocktail liberals who vote in party primaries, but startled the larger constituency. If Reilly thought his stance had any cache with Beacon Hill lawmakers -- and middle-class families -- he was sadly mistaken. The bill was soundly rejected last week.
Second, on the Friday before New Year's, a typically slow news day, Reilly made a shocking disclosure: He admitted he had been arrested for drinking as an underage college student. The AG said he felt it was important to come clean with the public, which begs the question: Why wasn't it important to tell voters 16 years ago when hefirst ran for Middlesex County DA?
Third, a week ago, Reilly watched silently as Gov. Mitt Romney's 8.5 percent cut in 2006 auto-insurance rates was accepted. Months earlier, Reilly grabbed statewide headlines in calling Romney's plan a "scam" while insisting that he'd take the governor to court unless an 18 percent reduction was issued.
Evidently, Reilly's campaign strategists believed there were political opportunities in all of the above. They were wrong. The opportunities have become weaknesses to be exploited. The public is already responding.
On Jan. 11, a Sun Internet poll attracted a record 1,343 respondents to the question: If the election were held today, who would you vote for: Kerry Healey, Deval Patrick or Tom Reilly? Patrick won with 48 percent to Reilly's 43 percent.
Today, if a new question were posed -- Does Reilly's campaign resemble burnt toast or savory bruschetta? -- I'm willing to bet the AG's strategists wouldn't be able to swallow the result.
Jim Campanini is The Sun's editor. Email him at jcampanini@lowellsun.com
Reilly
denies hurting investigation
Campaign fundraiser was sisters’ neighbor
By Glen Johnson THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOSTON—
Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly said yesterday he spoke to a campaign
fundraiser about a car crash that killed the daughters of a contributor.
Reilly said he called Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte on his own,
and angrily denied trying to impede an investigation into whether anyone
illegally provided liquor to the girls.
“I spoke to Bob Davis about this case. He never asked me to make a phone
call. He never asked me to do anything. That is the truth. That is the
absolute truth,” an angry Reilly told reporters after a speech to the
Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.
Davis is the founder of Lycos, a multibillion-dollar Internet search
company. Campaign finance records show Davis lives next door to Christopher
and Michelle Murphy of Southboro, whose daughters, Shauna, 17, and Meghan,
15, were killed in the Oct. 13 crash.
The records also show Christopher Murphy donated $300 to Reilly on June 30,
the same day a number of area residents donated $14,000 to the attorney
general, now a Democratic candidate for governor. Those donations came at a
Reilly fundraiser hosted by Davis, according to campaign spokesman Corey
Welford.
In the aftermath of the crash, Reilly said he spoke about the case with
Conte. Conte later declined to prosecute a 20-year-old man whom police
suspected had allowed the Murphys to drink liquor in his house before they
were killed.
Northboro police Chief Mark K. Leahy complained in recent interviews that
Conte’s office had not responded to his request for a legal opinion as he
weighed charges against the 20-year-old. He said his office had not received
toxicology reports that would have definitively showed that the Murphys had
been drinking before they were killed.
The chief also told The Associated Press he was “certainly surprised” by
Reilly’s call.
Conte said Monday that Reilly’s call did not influence his decision to
withhold charges.
“If the pope or the president of the United States called, it would have
made no difference,” the district attorney said at a news conference Monday.
Jeffrey B. Goldstein, the assistant district attorney who handled the case,
said he recommended Conte not seek charges before he learned about Reilly’s
call to the district attorney.
“Therefore, I can say with absolute certainty that the call had no impact on
how I handled the case,” Goldstein said. The assistant district attorney
said his decision was based on witnesses who said the Murphys brought their
own liquor to the 20-year-old’s house.
In addition, both Conte and Goldstein said Chief Leahy never sought an
autopsy report or toxicology report from them. Rather, the prosecutors said
police in Southboro — where the crash occurred — had received a verbal
report on the girls’ blood-alcohol level from the medical examiner’s office.
Conte and Goldstein said they believed that information was shared with
Northboro police as part of their investigation of the Murphys’ movements
before the crash.
Leahy has refused any additional comment since declaring his investigation
closed last Thursday.
Gov. Mitt Romney asked that same day, “Why would we ever want to hush up the
truth about alcohol in an accident?”
In remarks to the chamber audience and a news conference afterward, Reilly
offered a revised description of his phone call with Conte.
The attorney general said last week he called Conte in mid-November because
he wanted to ensure that the district attorney understood he did not have to
release the autopsy reports to the media. The reports typically include a
toxicology analysis, and Reilly said he wanted to spare the family any grief
stemming from disclosing the girls had been drinking.
Yesterday, Reilly said he called Conte for clarification of the law, after
the attorney general had told the Murphy family he did not believe the
girls’ medical reports could be released to reporters.
Reilly said his belief stemmed from his prior service as Middlesex district
attorney.
“That was my understanding of the law, but I wasn’t positive of that,”
Reilly said. “I couldn’t find the (precedent). I called the district
attorney of Worcester County and he told me it’s my case; I had the case
that established the precedent in this state that these autopsy records and
toxicology are not public records.”
Asked about a story in yesterday’s Boston Herald, the attorney general said
he had spoken with Davis about the case, despite repeated refusals by his
staff during the past week to answer the question. Davis also did not return
a call seeking comment.
Reilly labeled Davis “another innocent person tossed into this travesty” and
said the media had harmed the Murphys.
“That family has suffered a great, great deal, all based on a lie, all based
on a lie, that somehow, somebody inferred that I interfered with an
investigation,” the attorney general said. “Now we all know. All of us know
now that the dust has cleared, I didn’t do it. It’s not true. It’s a lie.
But that lie has been written over and over and over again, and because of
that a family has suffered.”
January 11, 2006
Reilly’s call to Conte a mystery
DA consistently keeps information to himself
Clive
McFarlane
If District Attorney John J. Conte is anything, it is that he is consistent,
especially in withholding information from the media.
This is why it is even more of a mystery that Attorney General Thomas F.
Reilly put his gubernatorial aspirations at risk by asking the DA not to do
what we all know he never does.
After Shauna M. Murphy, 17, and her 15-year-old sister, Meghan C. Murphy,
were killed when their Land Rover crashed into a utility pole on Oct. 13,
Mr. Reilly, a friend of the girls’ father, called Mr. Conte to remind him
that autopsy reports are not public records and are not to be released to
the media.
Mr. Reilly, who has come under intense criticism that he interfered in a
criminal investigation, shouldn’t have bothered.
“What was been done by this office as a result of the attorney general’s
telephone call?” Mr. Conte asked at a news conference Monday.
“The answer is absolutely nothing,” he said. “If the pope or president of
the United States had called, it would have made no difference.”
That is probably the only non-contradiction that has come out so far in an
accident that tragically took the lives of two young and promising teenagers
and seriously injured another.
For years reporters have had a tough time getting Mr. Conte to release
information that should be legally available to the public, and he had done
little recently to suggest he was about to change his ways.
His news conference was no exception. He wanted to set the record straight.
He didn’t.
Initially, police said they did not think alcohol was a factor in the
accident. In fact, two weeks after the accident, the Southboro Police
Department released a preliminary report announcing that speed was a factor
in the death of the young women.
We have recently learned, however, that all three young women consumed a
large quantity of alcohol before the fatal crash.
On Monday, Mr. Conte released information suggesting that about the same
time the Southboro Police Department was updating the media that speed was a
factor in the accident, his office was being asked by Southboro Police Chief
William Webber to release information on the case. Mr. Conte also told us
that around the same period, the Northboro police were asking his office
whether criminal charges on furnishing alcohol to minors could be brought in
the case.
If the police were
thwarted in their investigation, it wasn’t as a result of his office’s
recalcitrance in releasing valuable information, Mr. Conte seemed to
suggest.
Now, we do not know what kind of information Chief Webber requested from the
DA. He could not be reached yesterday, but in a letter released by the DA’s
office on Monday, Chief Webber said Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey
Goldstein responded to his request for information by providing him with
some timely and highly professional advice.
“He was able to immediately identify the critical issue and provided
invaluable advice,” the chief said. “His efforts saved my department
valuable man hours and perhaps assisted us in reducing emotional toil of the
family.”
What does that mean? We don’t know exactly. Mr. Conte said it did not mean
his office told the police to drop the investigation. However, it was the
recommendation of his office that a criminal case was not viable.
He, in fact, used Chief Webber’s letter thanking the DA’s office for
“identifying the critical issue” and providing his department with
“invaluable advice” to underscore his contention that his office did not
interfere in the investigation.
“Far from being criticized for slowing down or stopping their efforts, we
were praised for being helpful,” Mr. Conte said.
Mr. Goldstein said there were several factors why charges were not brought
against 20-year-old Nathaniel Berberian, the friend at whose house the girls
had consumed the alcohol.
The factors, he said, include that all the witnesses agreed that Mr.
Berberian did not serve any alcohol to anyone, that all the witnesses agreed
that the Murphy sisters brought their own liquor to the premises and that
the evidence suggested that the deceased girls used illegal means to obtain
the alcohol, using another person’s license.
But under the state’s social host responsibility law, the owner or caretaker
of the property on which a minor drinks can be charged, even if that person
did not provide the alcohol. While legal experts said it is difficult to
successfully prosecute such cases, there have been a number prosecuted by
other DA offices across the state.
The bottom line, according to Mr. Conte, is that his decision not to charge
anyone reflects the facts in the case, not the politics.
“We are a professional office,” he said. “We are fact-driven.”
Really?
Was he fact-driven when in November he announced Preston D. Johnson, a
Leominster man, would face two counts of assault with intent to murder and
other charges on the same day the young man was shot in the back of the head
by a state trooper? The state trooper said he fired to prevent himself and
another officer from being run over by a vehicle driven by Mr. Johnson.
Mr. Johnson later died from his wounds. An inquest on the circumstances and
cause of his death is now pending, which would suggest all the facts are
still not in.
Oh, well, at least we know why Mr. Conte, a man of seemingly so much
contradiction, does not talk regularly to the media.
Contact Clive McFarlane by e-mail at
cmcfarlane@telegram.com.
Friend
of Murhpys raised $10K for Reilly
By Dave Wedge and Casey Ross/ Boston Herald
A dot-com millionaire and friend of the family of two Southborough teens
killed in an apparent drunk driving crash helped raise $10,000 for Attorney
General Thomas Reilly, who now faces accusations he improperly intervened to
cover up the case.
Reilly, who is running for governor, attended the June 30, 2005, fund-raiser
at Lycos founder Bob Davis’ Southborough home, along with Davis’ neighbor,
Christopher Murphy, the father of Shauna and Meghan Murphy. The sisters,
ages 17 and 15, were killed in an Oct. 13, 2005, crash in Southborough after
drinking vodka at a friend’s party, police said.
Reilly has been accused of trying to cover up the girls’ drinking and
improperly intervening in the case in a controversial call to Worcester
District Attorney John Conte -- allegations that have been staunchly denied
by Reilly.
But yesterday, a Reilly spokesman refused to answer a yes or no question
about whether Davis ever contacted the attorney general about the
investigation into the Murphy sisters’ deaths.
The AG’s spokesman, David Guarino, would only say that no one asked Reilly
to take the specific action of calling Conte. "(Reilly) initiated the call
to the district attorney and he did so at the request of no one," Guarino
said. Davis has not returned repeated calls.
According to campaign finance records, 24 donations were made to Reilly the
day of Davis’ fund-raiser by residents of Southborough, and an additional
three came from residents of Northborough for a total of $9,750. Among the
donors that day was Christopher Murphy, who gave $300.
Davis, who lives next door to the Murphys, acted as the family’s spokesman
in the wake of the horrific tragedy and has donated the maximum $500 to
Reilly’s campaign. Just days before the fund-raiser, two employees of
Highland Capital, where Davis is a managing partner, also chipped in $500
each.
Cisco executive David Bakstran, a friend of the Murphys who attended Davis’
fund-raiser, lamented that the case has become a political football and said
the case has taken a heavy emotional toll on the family.
"Every day they wake up now just trying to do what they can to get through
the day," said Bakstran, who along with his wife gave Reilly $1,000.
Jeffrey Goldstein, the prosecutor who handled the Murphy investigation for
Conte’s office reiterated yesterday that Reilly’s call had no bearing on his
findings in the case.
"My recommendation to the district attorney not to prosecute was without any
knowledge that the attorney general had called," Goldstein said yesterday.
Goldstein added that there was not sufficient evidence to charge 20-year-old
Nathaniel Berberian, who hosted the party attended by the Murphy sisters
before they died. Witnesses said the girls brought their own alcohol but
under state law party hosts can be charged for allowing minors to drink.
"I believed the case for furnishing (alcohol to minors) was weak or
non-existent," Goldstein said. "It would be fundamentally unfair to charge a
20-year-old with furnishing alcohol to minors just because he was in their
presence."
Conte
denies Reilly factor
DA says merits of case, not politics, rule decisions
By Bronislaus B. Kush TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
WORCESTER—
A
combative Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte reiterated yesterday
that a call from Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly on behalf of a friend and
campaign contributor who lost two daughters in a car crash Oct. 13 in
Southboro did not influence his office’s investigation of the accident.
Mr. Conte met with reporters in hopes of defusing the controversy that
erupted when it was reported that Mr. Reilly, a gubernatorial candidate, had
sought to intervene in the case. Mr. Conte said “it would have been a
stretch” to pursue criminal charges against the 20-year-old host of a party
in Northboro where police said the two underage Algonquin Regional High
School students had been heavily drinking before the crash.
“What was done by this office as a result of the attorney general’s
telephone call? The answer is absolutely nothing,” said Mr. Conte. “If the
pope or president of the United States called, it would have made no
difference. We are a very independent office, and we know the law concerning
autopsy reports.”
Mr. Reilly, a Democrat, has found himself in the middle of a political storm
after he reportedly called Mr. Conte to recommend that the autopsy and
toxicology reports on the deaths of Shauna Murphy, 17, the driver in the
crash, and her sister, Meghan, 15, not be released to the media.
Christopher Murphy, their father, is a longtime friend of Mr. Reilly and has
contributed to his campaign war chest.
Mr. Conte, in an exchange with reporters, said he did nothing to withhold
information from Northboro and Southboro police investigators and, in
response to a question, said the matter is being politicized.
Gov. Mitt Romney and Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, who is seeking the Republican
gubernatorial nomination, have harshly criticized Mr. Reilly for placing the
call.
Mr. Conte described Mr. Reilly’s call as “casual” and said the two often
confer.
When asked if he felt Mr. Reilly had tried to pressure him, Mr. Conte
bluntly replied “No.”
Mr. Conte said he knew that he could withhold the autopsy results because
his office was a party in the landmark Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
ruling in the late 1980s that deemed such findings should not be publicly
disclosed.
“I know the law,” said Mr. Conte, at one point challenging the media
attending the press conference to show how he might have stymied the crash
investigation.
In fact, Mr. Conte said, police knew the toxicology results before his
office did.
Mr. Conte said he didn’t believe there was a case to charge Nathaniel
Berberian, of 19 Westbrook Road, Northboro, who hosted the party that the
Murphy girls attended before their deaths.
Jeffrey B. Goldstein, the assistant district attorney who specifically
investigated the crash, said he recommended that Mr. Conte not file charges
because all the witnesses interviewed by Northboro police agreed that Mr.
Berberian did not serve alcohol to anyone and that the Murphy sisters had
brought their own liquor to the gathering.
He said the evidence also suggested that Shauna Murphy obtained a fake
license, which might have been used to procure alcohol.
“Given the facts, I believed the case for furnishing was weak or
nonexistent, and it would be fundamentally unfair to charge a 20-year-old
with furnishing alcohol to minors just because he was in their presence,”
Mr. Goldstein said. “I also believed that jurors would acquit the young man
because they would view the prosecution as a desperate, last-ditch effort to
blame someone for their deaths. My opinion has not changed.”
Mr. Conte said Northboro Police Chief Mark K. Leahy may legally pursue a
misdemeanor complaint against Mr. Berberian if he chooses.
“It’s the chief’s call,” he said.
However, if a clerk magistrate finds cause, Mr. Conte said, he would seek an
independent prosecutor to pursue the matter, given his office’s involvement
in the controversy to date.
Last week, Chief Leahy said he would not pursue charges and said the case
was closed.
Mr. Goldstein said he made the recommendation not to prosecute without
knowing that Mr. Reilly had called Mr. Conte.
Mr. Goldstein, chief of the motor vehicle homicide unit for 10 years,
monitors police investigations of traffic fatalities.
“Both the Southboro and Northboro Police departments requested legal
assistance from the DA’s office,” Mr. Goldstein said. “Southboro requested a
legal opinion regarding the public records law. Northboro requested a legal
opinion on whether we had a case of furnishing alcohol to minors. They
sought us out. We did not step into their investigation.”
Mr. Conte said it’s not unusual for prosecutors and police to disagree on
whether criminal charges should be filed.
“In the end, the politics surrounding a gubernatorial campaign have made
people lose sight of the truth,” Mr. Conte said. “The legal opinion that we
lacked a case to charge someone stemmed from the facts, not politics. We are
a professional office. We are fact-driven.”
January 9, 2006
Poor decision
Attorney General Tom Reilly was wrong to urge Worcester District Attorney John Conte to not release autopsy reports that would detail blood-alcohol levels of two sisters killed in a Northboro car accident.
Certainly Conte, an experienced attorney, did not require Reilly's assistance in determining whether the reports qualify as public information. Reilly's unprecedented involvement implied -- regardless of his stated intent -- that any discussion or investigation into whether alcohol played a part in the fatal crash should be quashed. That's unacceptable.
The family of Southboro teenagers Shauna and Meghan Murphy, both of whom died when the SUV Shauna was driving slammed into a utility pole, have suffered a devastating loss. It is understandable they would not want autopsy results released to the public. What parent would?
Christopher Murphy, the girls' father, is Reilly's friend and donated $300 to his gubernatorial campaign. Clearly, the small donation is not the reason Reilly called Conte. His friendship with the Murphy family came into play.
Reilly wanted to protect his friends from publicity that would cause them further pain. That's something a friend would try to do, but not a friend who's an experienced attorney, seasoned law-enforcement official and savvy politician. Reilly knows where the line is, and he crossed it anyway.
But Gov. Mitt Romney is not blameless in this scenario. He is guilty of exploiting the incident in hopes of boosting Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey's gubernatorial chances. Romney should have let events continue to unfold on their own and not played this distasteful political game. Let Reilly continue to trip himself up.
If Reilly's call to Conte brought a premature end to the police investigation, shame on Reilly, Conte and Northboro Police Chief Mark Leahy.
Conte should have told Reilly he knows the public-records law and would comply with it. He should have immediately released the autopsy reports to police. Leahy knows he has the authority to file charges against the 20-year-old friend who permitted the underage girls to drink alcohol in his home, if there is enough evidence. He doesn't need Conte's or Reilly's permission.
Reilly clearly overstepped his authority and should suffer the appropriate political consequences, but one sad fact remains unchanged -- the mistakes made that night by teenagers Shauna and Meghan Murphy cost them their lives. Hopefully, knowing alcohol use led to the girls' deaths will prevent other youngsters from engaging in similar risky behaviors.
Sisters’
deaths put Conte under klieg light
AG’s call to old ally DA at center of controversy
BOSTON—
When Thomas F. Reilly announced he was running for attorney general in
1998, he was introduced to Central Massachusetts residents by a colleague
and longtime local Democrat, Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte.
Today, as Reilly runs for governor, he’s being criticized for calling Conte
amid an investigation into the death of the two daughters of one of the
attorney general’s campaign contributors.
The propriety of that phone call sparked a high-profile debate this week
between Reilly and Gov. Mitt Romney, but Conte largely stayed in the
background — a familiar spot during his 30 years in office.
“He usually does his business in the courthouse and not out in the public
domain,” said Edward P. Ryan Jr. of Fitchburg, a criminal defense lawyer and
former president of the Massachusetts Bar Association.
Kevin Burke, who served alongside Conte as Essex district attorney for 24
years, said: “John Conte has conducted his office in a very conservative
manner. I don’t think he is a high-risk DA in his interpretation of the laws
and policies.”
The 75-year-old Conte, the longest-serving district attorney in the state,
is commonly described by both friends and foes as reclusive. He did not
respond to interview requests this week from The Associated Press.
A local columnist (Dianne Williamson) has joked about triple locks on
Conte’s office doors and dubbed him “The Phantom” for his reluctance to
speak with the media.
Conte has lived his life virtually within sight of the Worcester County
Courthouse. He was born and raised in the city and attended the College of
the Holy Cross. He then worked as a local teacher before becoming a state
senator.
In 1976, after his predecessor resigned, Conte was appointed district
attorney by then-Gov. Michael Dukakis. Conte was elected in 1978 and has
only faced two challengers ever since.
Supporters attribute Conte’s election record to his conviction rate, which
hovers around 90 percent annually. His detractors cite a large number of
plea bargains and accuse him of shying away from controversial cases.
He is up for re-election this fall and is being challenged by Joseph Early
Jr., the son of the area’s former congressman. Conte’s opponents have
started a Web site whose home page reads, “Not this time. ...We would like
to see you seek retirement, not re-election.”
Nonetheless, the district attorney has roughly $300,000 in his campaign
account. That includes donations from more than 90 percent of his
prosecutors, a recent analysis by the Sentinel & Enterprise of Fitchburg
found, a sign of loyalty or intimidation, depending upon whom is
interviewed.
Conte was thrust into the spotlight in recent weeks after Northboro police
began to complain they were being stymied in their attempt to bring charges
stemming from the Oct. 13 car crash that killed Shauna Murphy, 17, and
Meghan Murphy, 15, of Southboro.
The MetroWest Daily News reported that Reilly and Conte spoke about the
investigation, but Reilly subsequently said he called Conte in mid-November
only to urge him to withhold the girls’ autopsy and toxicology reports from
the media.
The girls’ father, Christopher Murphy, was one of Reilly’s campaign donors.
Reilly said his request did not extend to the police and he was not trying
to impede any investigation, only to spare the family additional grief.
Romney asked Thursday, “Why would we ever want to hush up the truth about
alcohol in an accident?”
Police reports released Thursday show that after Reilly’s call, one of
Conte’s prosecutors called Northboro detectives, asking whether they were
investigating the case. A detective said the investigation was nearly
complete and the department intended to file criminal charges if the facts
fit the definition of illegally furnishing alcohol to a minor.
“I asked (the prosecutor) if he wanted a copy of the report,” Detective Sgt.
William Lyver wrote. “I was advised not to send the report at this time as
he would look into” the law.
In newspaper articles published Dec. 21 and Dec. 30, Northboro police Chief
Mark Leahy was twice quoted as saying he continued to wait for guidance from
Conte’s office. Only after the second article was published did Conte’s
office call back, seeking a copy of the investigators’ report, according to
Northboro police.
A subsequent report said Conte called Leahy on Thursday morning and
explained there was insufficient evidence to pursue charges in the case.
“I expressed my beliefs that we had a case for ‘allowing’ a minor to consume
alcohol under this section,” Leahy wrote. “Mr. Conte advised that we did not
have a ‘prima facie’ case upon which he could move forward and that his
office would not seek any criminal charges.”
Leahy then announced his department was dropping its investigation.
But Conte, in interviews with print and broadcast media outlets Friday, said
he did nothing to stifle the criminal investigation.
DA DENIES REILLY
INFLUENCE
Says AG's phone call had nothing to do with decision on charges
Boston Herald (MA)
DAVE WEDGE and CASEY ROSS
Worcester District Attorney John Conte says he has "no idea" why Attorney General Tom Reilly called him about an alcohol-related Northboro wreck that killed two sisters, and denied that the AG's call influenced his decision not to press charges against the 20-year-old party host.
Conte said his office
declined to charge Nathaniel Berberian under the state's "social host
responsibility" law after determining there was "insufficient evidence."
"The young man involved didn't furnish any liquor. The girls brought it
there themselves," Conte said.
Shauna and Meghan Murphy, 17 and 15, died when their car slammed into a
utility pole after leaving the Oct. 13, 2005, party. Passenger Melissa
Smith, 15, was seriously injured.
Smith's mother said the family has not become involved in the debate over
whether criminal charges should have been filed in the case. "I'm glad she
is OK," Maria Smith said. "We just want to put this behind us."
Reilly has been accused of improperly intervening in the case because he is
a friend of the girls' father, Chris Murphy, who is also a Reilly campaign
donor. Reilly, who is running for governor, has admitted advising Conte not
to release toxicology reports, which may have conclusively proven the girls
were drinking, but has denied trying to impede the police investigation.
"He called at his own initiative and at no one's urging, out of concern for
the family," Reilly spokesman David Guarino said. "He called strictly
because he had heard these reports might be released to the public."
Conte said he had "no idea" why Reilly called but described the conversation
as "casual."
"It had no bearing on anything," he said.
Conte said published reports that Reilly instructed him not to give autopsy
reports to police are untrue. According to Conte, police got the autopsy
reports in November from the medical examiner.
While Conte declined to prosecute Berberian, his office is aggressively
pursuing charges against 17-year-old Kristina Engle of Bellingham, who
hosted a Dec. 17 booze bash that preceded a crash that injured George
Kontoulis and Jason Elz, both 16.
"These cases are different in a million ways," said Worcester Assistant
Distict Attorney Jeffrey Goldstein, who was involved in the Northboro
process. "In Bellingham, you have an officer who made an arrest that night,
and there was very strong evidence to support a charge of furnishing
alchohol to minors. In Northboro, there was nothing to indicate (Berberian)
provided any alcohol."
Witnesses told Northboro police the Murphy girls brought their own vodka to
the party and that Berberian only provided them orange juice mixers.
Republicans yesterday continued to hammer Reilly, demanding to know why he
got involved in the case.
"As the state's top law enforcement agent, he should not be trying to cover
this stuff up," said state GOP director Matt Wylie.
January 7, 2006
Cases against party hosts hard to prove
DAVE WEDGE, Boston
Herald (MA)
Charging party hosts in the wake of booze-fueled car wrecks has become common in Massachusetts - even when the host is underage - but prosecutors say proving such cases is often a stretch.
"The prosecutions are
very rare because of the lack of reporting and the immense difficulty in
proving a case like that," said Bristol District Attorney Paul Walsh.
Worcester District Attorney John Conte declined to press charges against
20-year-old Nathaniel Berberian, who hosted a party where police say teenage
sisters Shauna and Meghan Murphy were drinking before they died in an
October car wreck.
Similar situations have yielded charges against underage party hosts,
including a pair of 2004 cases in Scituate.
Michael P. McInnis, 18, was ordered to perform 50 hours of community service
for hosting a booze bash that ended with 19-year-old James Flanagan wrecking
his car and killing passengers Jenelle Desmond, 16, and Kristin Carriere,
15.
Eric Norlin, 17, and Dennis Richardson, 20, were each ordered to perform 40
hours of community service for allowing 19-year-old Shannon Dwyer to drink
in their homes before she died in a car wreck.
The so-called "social host" charge is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a
year in jail and a $2,000 fine.
Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley agreed the cases are "difficult
to prove" and said the key lies in educating teens.
"No matter what we do, there's always a tragedy around the prom or
graduation," Coakley said.
January 7, 2006
Police chiefs support DA on privacy
By Carolyn Kessel Stewart / Daily News Staff
Local police chiefs stand behind Worcester County District Attorney John
Conte and Attorney General Thomas Reilly’s decision to keep the autopsy
results of two Southborough sisters who died in an October car crash
private.
The desire of a family to keep loved ones’ medical records out of the public eye is often at odds with a community’s desire to know.
It’s a tightrope Milford Police Chief Tom O’Loughlin has had to walk on issues from car crashes to suicides.
"There’s that difficult balance as to what’s in the public’s best interest and what’s a detriment to the family and respecting the privacy and the pain of the family," O’Loughlin said.
In this case, Shauna Murphy, 17, was believed by police to be driving drunk when her 2000 Land Rover crashed into a pole at 1 a.m. on Oct. 13 on Northborough Road in Southborough, killing her, her 15-year-old sister, Meghan, and seriously injuring a passenger, 15-year-old Melissa Smith of Northborough.
"From a legal perspective, I agree with the assessment of the AG," O’Loughlin said. State law deems medical records private. An autopsy report that would show whether the Murphy sisters had been drinking is considered a medical record, and therefore is exempt from public record requirements.
Wayne Sampson, Shrewsbury police chief and president of the Massachusetts Police Chiefs’ Association, agreed.
"In this particular case, the decision made doesn’t surprise us at all," Sampson said. "It’s been a longstanding knowledge of law enforcement that autopsy records are not public. That’s just something we’ve had to accept over the years."
But conflicts in the law exist and autopsy information often becomes public through the legal system. If someone were charged in relation to the accident, the results of the blood alcohol tests would likely come out in testimony. And if a civil lawsuit were filed, the information would also likely be released through court documents.
According to police documents, Northborough Police planned to charge 20-year-old Northborough resident Nate Berberian for allegedly allowing the girls to drink at his 19 Westbrook Road home that night. Northborough Police did not request the autopsy reports, and after Conte advised police he would not prosecute, Northborough Police announced Thursday they were closing their investigation and no charges would be filed.
O’Loughlin also said he was not surprised to hear Reilly called Conte in November to remind him that the Murphy sisters’ autopsy reports do not have to be released to the media or to the public.
"To have contact with Tom Reilly is absolutely not uncommon," O’Loughlin said. Others have criticized Reilly, saying he was doing a favor for the Murphy family, with whom he is friendly. Christopher Murphy donated $300 to Reilly’s gubernatorial campaign last year.
The balance between privacy and releasing information for the common good also comes into play in suicides, O’Loughlin said.
Teens are more likely to commit suicide if someone they know in their age group or who attends their school has done so, O’Loughlin said.
So if a suicide occurs, should police release information to the public and let parents know of the danger, or would they be encouraging someone else to follow suit?
"There’s a delicate balance," O’Loughlin said.
Gov. Mitt Romney has suggested the results of the autopsy reports could be a lesson to teens of the consequences of drinking and driving.
Although the law requires the information not be made public unless the family allows it, Sampson said it is important to know the truth in what happened.
"As parents, we hope our young children are going to make a correct decision. We also know that it’s very hard to compete with peer pressure," the Shrewsbury chief said.
Stephen Wallace, national chairman and CEO of Students Against Destructive Decisions, knows the effect peer pressure can have on teens’ drinking decisions.
Underage drinking is a problem across the country, and according to SADD, it is adults who are buying booze for teens.
Wallace, speaking not about the Murphy case but about teenage drinking in general, said the balance of privacy for a family has to be weighed against the safety of the community and the needs of law enforcement.
"There’s way too many kids dying," he said. "Many parents I talk to are outraged because their kids are going to other parents’ homes where they are supposedly supervised but those parents are providing the alcohol."
"As a general rule of thumb, we believe that those who purchase alcohol for minors should be held accountable," Wallace said.
Joseph Early Jr., who is planning a run for Worcester County district attorney this year, said he is not familiar enough with the investigation to comment on whether it was appropriate to withhold the Murphy sisters’ medical reports from the public.
"Whenever you’re dealing with a tragedy you try to do what you can to minimize the grief to the victims while staying within the law."
January 7, 2006
Editorial
Judgment errors in fatal inquiry
Boston Herald (MA)
No compassionate person wants to compound a grieving family's pain. Surely it was concern for a suffering friend - not that friend's single $300 campaign donation - that led Attorney General Tom Reilly to dial up Worcester District Attorney John Conte in November.
During the call,
Reilly reminded the DA that autopsy results for Shauna Murphy, 17, and her
sister Meghan, 15, both of whom died in a horrific high-speed crash in
October, should not be released to the media.
We've since learned that Shauna Murphy may have been drunk behind the wheel,
a fact that might never have gotten out thanks to Reilly's call.
Should he have gotten involved? Given his stature as the state's top law
enforcement officer, his gubernatorial aspirations, and his connection to
the Murphy family - probably not.
But Reilly says his call was meant to fend off the media, not to impede a
criminal investigation, and we tend to believe him. If anyone is guilty of
poor judgment - or a more serious charge of squelching an inquiry into the
crash - it's Conte.
Not only did the DA keep the information from reporters (his legal right),
but he dragged his feet in releasing it to local police investigating the
crash.
Maybe he thought he was doing Reilly a favor, but authorities had a
responsibility to investigate every aspect of this tragedy, from the
question of how the girls obtained alcohol in the first place to whether
someone provided them a "safe haven" in which to drink.
Police thought they could build a criminal case - Conte disagrees - but
police had no prayer of seeing it through as long as a key piece of
evidence, the toxicology reports, was kept from them. Any uncertainty
whatsoever cried out for Conte's speedy cooperation.
Speaking of lack of judgment, Gov. Mitt Romney and Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey
didn't exactly cover themselves in glory here. At the first sign that Reilly
was on shaky ground they pounced. It's true that no case involving drunk
driving should be swept under the rug, but their two-pronged attack smacked
of political opportunism.
No matter how well-intentioned those in a position of authority might have
been, the sad fact is this tragedy was not simply a private matter that
could be dispensed with quietly to avoid embarrassment. Tom Reilly has
learned that the hard way.
January 7, 2006
CONTE DEFENDS ROLE IN
PROBE -
REBUKES POLICE ON AUTOPSY ISSUE
Author: Franci R.
Ellement Globe Correspondent and Lisa Kocian,
Globe Staff
Worcester District
Attorney John J. Conte, delivering an unusually harsh rebuke to a fellow law
enforcement officer, said yesterday that the Northborough police chief has
had toxicology results for weeks in a high-profile car crash that killed two
teenage girls last October.
Rejecting suggestions that he helped stifle a criminal investigation, Conte
insisted that Northborough police did not need his approval to pursue
charges against a host of the party where the girls were drinking before the
crash.
However, Conte said the
charge would be a "stretch" because investigators learned that the teenagers
brought their own alcohol there. "You could stretch it," Conte said, "but
that's like picking out a scapegoat for this horrendous tragedy and that's
not what happened here. The girls brought their own liquor."
Conte's involvement in the case became a focal point this week after
Attorney General Thomas Reil ly acknowledged that he had urged Conte not to
share the teenagers' autopsy reports with the public. The girls' father is a
friend of Reilly and contributed $300 to his political campaign.
In addition, Northborough police Chief Mark Leahy told the Associated Press
this week that Conte's office refused to share a copy of the autopsy report
with police and also suggested that Conte was hindering the investigation.
Leahy wanted the report to establish whether the girls had been drinking, to
build a case that someone had illegally furnished alcohol to the underage
teens.
But in an interview with the Globe last night, Conte vehemently denied that
Leahy ever called him to ask for the autopsy reports.
"The implications the chief or the AP reporter is making is absolutely
atrocious because none of it is true," Conte said. "There's something going
on here and that's a lack of understanding of how things are done. This
investigation was done locally."
Northborough police could have charged the host of the party with furnishing
alcohol without the approval of Conte's office because it is a misdemeanor.
Shauna Murphy, 17, and her sister Meghan, 15, died in the Oct. 13 crash.
According to police reports, Shauna, who was driving, appeared to be
intoxicated, before she got behind the wheel.
The third person in the car, Melissa Smith, was seriously injured. The
police report said Shauna Murphy arrived at the party with vodka.
Yesterday, Conte said that Northborough police told him on Nov. 2 that they
were already in possession of the girls' toxicology results, which they had
collected over the telephone from the medical examiner's office. The results
are part of a broader autopsy report.
"They didn't need any autopsy reports," he said. "They already had the
readings."
Leahy, contacted by a Globe reporter at his home yesterday, refused to
comment. He wrote in a police report released this week that he wanted to
pursue a case based on "allowing a minor to consume alcohol," but that he
closed the case after Conte said there was insufficient evidence for a
criminal case.
Conte, who rarely speaks to the press, sought out several reporters
yesterday to dispute Leahy's account of the investigation.
"To imply that I have some information that hinders investigations is
absolutely ridiculous," Conte said. "They did the investigation, not me."
Conte also went into greater depth yesterday in explaining his disagreement
with Leahy over charges under the state's "social host" law.
Police reports indicate that Nathaniel Berberian, a 20-year-old resident of
Northborough, hosted a party where Shauna Murphy and others drank alcohol.
Although several witnesses said Berberian did not supply alcohol, the police
reports said that he appeared to be "in control of the house" and "allowed
underaged persons to drink."
Conte said yesterday that it was questionable who was "in control" of the
house since Berberian came home to find two friends already there watching a
baseball playoff game.
"People were there even before he got home," said Conte. "That doesn't show
much control."
Reilly, who is running for governor, said he called Conte because he wanted
to protect the Murphy family from further pain. On Thursday, Governor Mitt
Romney alleged that Reilly had tried to "hush up" the investigation.
David Guarino, spokesman for the attorney general, said that Conte's
comments yesterday support what his office has been saying all along that
Reilly's actions were entirely proper.
"It just says to us anyone who ever suggested that the attorney general's
role in this was anything less than proper just had their facts wrong. For
anyone to suggest otherwise, they've been wrong and they continue to be
wrong and they know it," said Guarino.
Crossing party lines in the political battle, Cape and Islands District
Attorney Michael O'Keefe said yesterday that he saw nothing wrong with
Reilly's call.
"If the facts are that all that was done was to indicate that it was
unnecessary to provide the media a copy of an autopsy report in a tragic
case like this, I think that's entirely appropriate," said O'Keefe, a
Republican.
CRASH REPORT CITES ALCOHOL -
ROMNEY, REILLY SWAP ACCUSATIONS ON CASE
Lisa Kocian and Frank Phillips, Globe Staff
A police report on a
car crash that killed two Southborough sisters says that the 17-year-old
girl at the wheel of the vehicle appeared intoxicated and was playing a
drinking game at a party with 15 or 20 other young people just before the
accident.
The report, released yesterday by Northborough police hours after Governor
Mitt Romney and Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly traded accusations over
the politically charged case, quotes Northborough Police Chief Mark Leahy as
telling prosecutors he believed his investigators had a case for what he
described as "allowing" a minor to consume alcohol.
Witnesses told police
that Shauna Murphy, 17, brought vodka with her when she arrived at the Oct.
12 party with her sister, Meghan, 15, and a third teenager; the sisters died
in an accident about 2 1/2 hours later. The report identifies the host of
the party as Nathaniel Berberian, 20, of Northborough and says that it
appeared he was "in control of the house" where the party occurred and
"allowed underaged persons to drink."
A woman who identified herself as Berberian's mother said in a brief
telephone interview yesterday that "he did not supply any alcohol."
Berberian and three witnesses also told police that he did not provide
alcohol to the teenagers, according to the police report.
Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte said he has determined there is
insufficient evidence to bring charges in the case. Northborough police said
yesterday that they had closed the investigation after hearing from Conte.
The case has taken on political implications because Reilly, who is a friend
of the girls' parents, acknowledged Wednesday that he had called Conte to
urge him to not release to the news media an autopsy report that would have
determined blood alcohol levels. Reilly, who is running for governor, said
he wanted to spare the Murphy family further publicity.
Leahy, the Northborough police chief, put a different light on Reilly's
involvement, telling the Associated Press earlier this week that the
attorney general's involvement was unusual. Leahy also told the AP that
Conte's office had not released the autopsy reports to police.
Yesterday, Romney and Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey both said that
Reilly's telephone call to Conte appeared to be an attempt to stifle an
investigation by the Northborough Police Department. Romney said the
attorney general's action contradicts recent efforts on Beacon Hill to crack
down on drunk driving.
"Hushing up of circumstances or giving the appearance that there will be a
hushing up of circumstance is something which I think suggests that the
attorney general may not have gotten the message that is emanating from this
building," Romney told a State House press conference, which had been called
for another topic.
Speaking to reporters at his own press conference after Romney's, Reilly
said that when he called Conte he was only concerned that the autopsy
reports not be released to the media and the public. He denied that he
interfered in the investigation or had asked that autopsy results be
withheld from the police chief. "He [Leahy] is free to pursue his
investigation," he said. "I have nothing to do with that. I have never
spoken to the man."
"I never did anything to hamper . . . or stop any investigation," Reilly
said. He said he has over the course of his career made similar calls to
protect the privacy of families. When pressed, he would not detail those
circumstances.
The attorney general, with tears welling up in his eyes, also, suggested
that Healey and Romney were making the case a political issue. "I'm
horrified by anybody's effort to politicize this," Reilly said. He did not
name Romney or Healey, but his spokesman said later he was referring to the
governor and lieutenant governor's statements.
Reilly opened his press conference by reading a statement from the Murphy
family. "Our family is living through the most unbearable grief after the
tragic loss of our beautiful young daughters," Christopher Murphy and his
family said in the statement. "We hurt every minute of every day. We ask the
media and our elected officials to respect our right to privacy and not add
to our burden by politicizing our girls' deaths."
David Guarino, Reilly's spokesman, said last night that the attorney general
was not aware of the police report that the Murphy girls had been drinking,
adding that he has not been involved in the details of the case, other than
to express concern over the release of the autopsy reports.
The police report released to the Globe yesterday provides the first
thorough account of the night of drinking that led up to the fatal accident.
Previously, the AP had reported that police investigators believed the
teenagers had been drinking.
The police report drew no conclusions how the teenage girls obtained
alcohol, but said that Shauna Murphy possessed a license belonging to
another Massachusetts woman who was over 21. The woman was not identified in
the report.
Under the state's so-called social host law, anyone who serves alcohol to a
minor may be criminally charged.
Leahy, the Northborough police chief, said in the police report that Conte,
the district attorney, told him yesterday that the department "did not have
sufficient evidence" to pursue a charge of "furnishing alcohol to a minor."
"I expressed my beliefs that we had a case for `allowing' a minor to consume
alcohol under this section," Leahy said in the report. "Mr. Conte advised
that we did not have a `prima facie' case upon which he could move forward,
and that his office would not seek any criminal charges."
Asked if he was disappointed by that decision, Leahy told the Globe: "I am
not disappointed. This is my job. It's not a personal crusade."
Conte said yesterday that investigations into underage drinking and
supplying alcohol to minors are normally conducted by local police and that
he became involved only because Leahy asked him to review the findings. "If
he wants to pursue it further, he may," Conte told the Globe.
State Representative Frank M. Hynes, a Democrat from Marshfield, who
sponsored the social host statute, said the bill was designed to discourage
people from providing a "safe haven" for teenagers to drink at their homes.
"If there is a suggestion that kids have been drinking and there has been an
accident and someone is hurt or killed, we really have an obligation to find
who the source of that drinking was and prosecute that," Hynes said.
The police report released yesterday said that the night unfolded as about
15 to 20 people gathered at Berberian's house to watch a playoff baseball
game.
In the report, several witnesses who attended the party described Shauna
Murphy, the 17-year-old driver, as obviously intoxicated. Berberian
described Shauna Murphy as drunk when she arrived at his house around 10:30
p.m. He told police she brought vodka with her in a Poland Spring water
bottle, later recovered by police, and drank it with orange juice.
SIDEBAR:
TIMELINE: DETAILS OF THE EVENING OF THE ACCIDENT
Oct. 12: The night of the accident:
9 p.m.: People arrived at the home of Nathaniel Berberian, 20, at Westbrook
Road in Northborough to watch a baseball playoff game. About 15 to 20 people
eventually showed up.
9:30 p.m.: Shauna Murphy, coming from dinner at China Taste in Marl borough,
picked up her sister Meghan Murphy and Melissa Smith at Smith's house.
Shauna Murphy did not appear to have been drinking.
10-10:30 p.m.: Shauna Murphy, Meghan Murphy, and Melissa Smith arrived at
the party. Shauna Murphy appeared to be intoxicated, according to Berberian.
He told police that Shauna Murphy brought her own vodka in a water bottle.
11:20 p.m.: Shauna Murphy told a guest as he is leaving that she planned to
stay at Berberian's until she sobered up. Shortly after, Berberian
reportedly heard Shauna say, "Maybe I shouldn't drive home."
11:30-11:50 p.m.: One partygoer said that at some point in the evening,
Shauna Murphy played a drinking game called Beirut.
11:58 p.m.: A junior at Algonquin Regional High School said he called Meghan
Murphy at the party. Meghan Murphy sounded as if she had been drinking and
told the junior Melissa Smith was playing a drinking game.
Midnight: Shauna Murphy, Meghan Murphy, and Melissa Smith left Berberian's
house.
12:30 a.m.: Berberian sent a text message to Shauna Murphy, but did not get
a response.
1 a.m.: Southborough police responded to a one-car accident at 155 Northboro
Road. Shauna and Meghan Murphy were killed in the accident. Smith was
seriously injured.
Oct. 13 to Oct. 28: Northborough detectives conducted a series of inter
views with Berberian, Smith, several witnesses at the party, and friends of
the victims.
Mid-November: Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly called Worcester District
Attorney John J. Conte to urge him to not release the autopsy reports of the
accident victims to the media.
Dec. 30: Goldstein called Lieutenant Edward Shead and asked if the report on
the Murphy case was completed. Goldstein told Shead he wanted a copy of the
report as soon as possible.
Jan. 5: Conte called Northborough Police Chief Mark Leahy. Conte told Leahy
he has reviewed the reports and determined that the police did not have
enough evidence to proceed with charges of furnishing alcohol to a minor.
Leahy told him he believed the department had a case for "allowing" a minor
to consume alcohol. Conte said his office would not seek any criminal
charges.
Citing Conte's decision, Leahy closes the case.
January 6, 2006
Tom's good intentions, bad decisions collided
PETER GELZINIS, Boston Herald (MA)
Instead of driving her parents' Land Rover into a utility pole at 60 mph, what if 17-year-old Shauna Murphy had veered into the path of an oncoming car?
A car carrying an
equally vivacious pair of teenage sisters? Or perhaps one with toddlers
strapped into the back seat?
Instead of leaving the road and landing upside down in a tangle of wires and
brush, what if Shauna Murphy's vehicle had plowed into a pedestrian . . . or
a family of pedestrians?
If the death toll on that grim October night had climbed past two, if Shauna
and her 15-year-old sister, Meghan, were not the only ones to lose their
lives senselessly, would Attorney General Tom Reilly have asked a district
attorney to embargo the details of such a horrific crash?
Probably not.
But then a visibly shaken Tom Reilly was never exactly confronted with any
of those possibilities during a brief and rather hostile encounter with the
press yesterday. Brimming with anger and emotion, Reilly kept insisting his
only motivation for asking Worcester District Attorney John Conte to impound
toxicology results for the dead Southboro sisters was to spare their parents
added pain.
That Reilly would make such a gesture on behalf of a devastated friend,
Chris Murphy, who'd lost his two daughters, is one thing. But how a seasoned
prosecutor, politician and gubernatorial candidate could think the Murphy
sisters' blood-alcohol figures would remain a secret is quite another.
While Reilly hoped toxicology results would remain under wraps, a Northboro
Police Department report on the incident contained the following right there
on the first page:
"(Witness) stated he believes Shauna Murphy brought her own vodka (to the
party) and that she had the vodka in a Poland Springs bottle . . . (Witness)
said Shauna Murphy and the other girls were drinking screwdrivers . . . "
The idea, of course, was to try and insulate one family from the weight of
any perceived guilt or shame. Shauna and Meghan Murphy were, quite
literally, a pair of golden sisters. Blonde, attractive, athletic and
popular, they lived at the very center of what seemed like an idyllic teen
universe.
Even as initial news reports of the fatal crash remained vague on the
subject of causes, there was no shortage of stories memorializing the
sisters' exuberant spirit, their devotion to one another, their family and
their friends.
Dying while driving drunk, you see, was not supposed to darken all those
golden memories.
Of course most, if not all, of their friends already knew the reasons why
Shauna and Meghan Murphy died, even as they filed past their caskets. And
that truth did not diminish their love, or lessen the scope of a tragedy.
Hopefully, it left them with a lesson about how precious and fleeting life
is.
"We ask the media and our elected officials . . . not to add to our burden
by politicizing our girls' deaths," Reilly said, reading from a prepared
statement from the Murphy family.
Ironically, their deaths would've never erupted into the political issue it
has become had the truth been allowed to come out.
Yesterday, Conte's office attempted to slap a Band-Aid on the issue by
saying "no criminal charges will be brought in connection with the deaths."
Translation: No bad guy supplied the booze here. And no charges against the
friend who let them drink at his mother's house. The girls brought their
own. Apparently that was the "secret" Tom Reilly hoped would stay out of
public view.
Unfortunately, too many drunk teenage drivers have either killed themselves,
or taken the lives of too many others, to keep this kind of tragedy hidden
in a locked file cabinet, or behind closed doors. If anyone should
understand that, it's Tom Reilly.
January 6, 2006
REILLY UNDER FIRE FOR COVERUP
Romney blasts AG as details of crash emerge
CASEY ROSS, Boston Herald (MA)
Attorney General Tom Reilly scrambled yesterday to explain why he tried to cover up the role of alcohol in a fatal accident that killed two teens, but the secrecy crumbled within hours when new details involving vodka and drinking games were revealed by police.
The probe into Shauna
and Meghan Murphy's deaths concluded without criminal charges yesterday as
Reilly - a friend of the girls' father - was accused of intervening with
Worcester District Attorney John Conte in an effort to keep details of the
girls' drinking secret.
The Southboro girls, ages 17 and 15, were killed in October when the Land
Rover Shauna was driving struck a utility pole after they left the house
party of a male acquaintance in Northboro. Police had probed whether to
charge Nathaniel Berberian, 20, for allowing a minor to consume alcohol.
Northboro police Chief Mark Leahy, who had accused Reilly of thwarting his
efforts to get blood-alcohol results on the girls, released a report
yesterday detailing the alleged pre-crash drinking at Berberian's home.
But an emotional Reilly, a Democratic candidate for governor, said, "The
only role that I had in this at all is to take steps to make sure the
(medical) information is not released to the media. To the best of my
knowledge - I know I didn't - no one interfered with any investigation,
tried to impede any investigation, tried to withhold any information from
law enforcement officials."
Gov. Mitt Romney accused Reilly of trying to "hush up" the investigation.
The AG read a statement from the Murphy family pleading against
"politicizing" the case.
Leahy had urged Conte to pursue charges against Berberian, but the DA
yesterday declined.
"We're done and nobody's being charged," Leahy said yesterday after he
failed to get Conte to reconsider. "So that's the end of it."
The Northboro police report released yesterday stated the Murphy sisters
were drinking vodka at Berberian's house before Shauna Murphy attempted to
drive home about midnight.
The report included interviews with several witnesses at the party who said
the sisters and their friend, Melissa Smith, 15, who was injured in the
accident, were seen drinking and playing games involving alcohol at the
party.
One witness told police Shauna left the house "wasted."
Berberian told police the girls brought their own vodka to the party in
plastic water bottles and that he only gave them orange juice to mix it
with. The report concluded, however, that there was enough evidence to
charge Berberian in connection with the sisters' deaths.
"It appears that Berberian was in control of the house, in the absen(ce) of
the owner, and allowed underage persons to drink," the report states.
Reilly confirmed that he advised Conte not to make the blood-alcohol report
public, but insisted he never attempted to block the police from obtaining
that information.
Attempts to contact the Murphy sisters' father, Christopher, who donated
$300 to Reilly's campaign last June, were unsuccessful last night. Berberian
also could not be reached. Conte did not return calls.
Lisa Gentes and Emelie Rutherford of the MetroWest Daily News contributed to
this report.
CAPTION: FACING THE MUSIC: Attorney General Tom Reilly answers questions
yesterday about the conversation with District Attorney John Conte about the
crash that killed Southboro sisters Meghan and Tough talk on Melanie's Law
turned to silence
January 6, 2006
CASEY ROSS, Boston Herald (MA)
Attorney General Tom Reilly - ripped for quietly covering up an alleged drunken driving case - has been front and center politically when it comes to toughening OUI laws.
Reilly, a Democratic
candidate for governor, figured heavily into efforts to strengthen Melanie's
Law when it was under attack from Beacon Hill legislators who attempted to
weaken its provisions.
"They can challenge it and I will defend it," Reilly was quoted as saying in
one media report on the new law, which contains controversial provisions to
allow prosecutors to use court records as evidence of prior drunken driving
convictions.
Reilly stood up to withering attacks from opponents who charged that he was
trying to score cheap "political points" by backing a stricter version of
the law when the debate became a daily focus of local media.
But now critics say he has failed to show the same backbone when the tragic
spotlight of drunken driving turned on Shauna and Meghan Murphy, the
daughters of a friend and campaign contributor, Christopher Murphy.
"Why would we ever want to hush up the truth about alcohol in an accident?"
said Gov. Mitt Romney, who joined Reilly in the fight to toughen Melanie's
Law. "Gosh, just let the truth come out."
Reilly has acknowledged that he contacted Worcester District Attorney John
Conte to advise him that the sisters' blood-alcohol results were private and
did not need to be shared with the media. But Northboro police Chief Mark
Leahy has taken it one step further and accused Reilly of interfering with
his attempts to gain access to those results - a charge Reilly emphatically
denied yesterday.
"What I was trying to do, and what I would do today and tomorrow, I tried to
put myself in the shoes in the place of the people that are suffering,"
Reilly said yesterday. "These are private records of their children who are
dead."
January 6, 2006
AG defends bid to keep report private
DAN RING; STAFF The Republican (Springfield, MA), dring@repub.com
BOSTON - Facing tough
criticism from the governor, Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly yesterday
defended his move to prevent the release of medical reports that could show
if a friend's two daughters were drinking alcohol before they died in a
crash.
Reilly, a Democratic candidate for governor and a Springfield native, said
he called Worcester County District Attorney John J. Conte in mid-November
and advised him to refuse media requests for the medical records, saying he
wanted to protect the privacy of the family.
Reilly denied that he wanted to block police from obtaining the records.
"I never did anything to hamper, interfere, stop any investigation at all,"
the two-term attorney general said at a press conference in his Boston
office. "Never. I did take steps to make sure people were aware of their
responsibilities under the law. And under the law of this state, the autopsy
records and medical records, including toxicology, are private."
In a prepared statement, Northborough police said yesterday they are closing
their investigation into whether someone illegally provided alcohol to
Shauna Murphy, 17, and Meghan Murphy, 15, of Southborough, who died when
their vehicle struck a utility pole on Oct. 13.
The father of the girls, Christopher Murphy, donated $300 to Reilly's
campaign in June, according to campaign finance records.
Northborough Police Chief Mark Leahy told the Associated Press that police
believe, based on secondhand information, that both girls were drinking
prior to the wreck.
According to the Associated Press, Leahy said police wanted to review a copy
of the girls' toxicology reports, contained in an autopsy report, but were
dissuaded after Conte said he would not release them.
Gov. W. Mitt Romney, who is not seeking re-election, lambasted Reilly.
"Why would we ever want to hush up the truth about alcohol in an accident?"
Romney asked.
Romney said that "even the appearance that there will be hushing of
circumstances, is something which I think suggests that the attorney general
may not have gotten the message that's emanating from this building. We care
very deeply about the lives of our citizens and are very concerned about
drunk driving."
Lt. Gov. Kerry M. Healey, who is running for governor this year, asked why
the attorney general would "prematurely end" any investigation into the
illegal provision of alcohol to minors.
Conte on Wednesday told the Boston Globe that he could not release the
records under state law. Conte said he didn't think his office could prove a
charge of supplying alcohol to a minor.
The Murphys watched a baseball playoff game prior to the crash and had
apparently just driven from Northborough into Southborough when the accident
occurred.
At his press conference, Reilly read a statement from the Murphy family,
asking the media and elected officials to "respect our privacy and not add
to our burden by politicizing our girls' deaths."
Reilly said Christopher Murphy did not ask him to call the district
attorney. Reilly said he would make the same call again.
Reilly said he never impeded the investigation and it was right for the
Northborough police chief to vigorously pursue whether alcohol was involved
in the crash.
January 5, 2006
REILLY STEPPED INTO PROBE OF FATAL ACCIDENT
Author: Frank Phillips, Globe Staff
Attorney General
Thomas F. Reilly, stepping into the investigation of a crash that killed two
daughters of a friend, urged the Worcester district attorney not to release
records that may have revealed whether the girls had been drinking.
Northborough Police Chief Mark Leahy told the Associated Press yesterday
that his investigation was stymied by the district attorney's refusal to
share the autopsy reports with his department. Leahy's department was
investigating whether the teenagers had been illegally served liquor. Under
Massachusetts' so-called social-host law, anyone who serves alcohol to a
minor may be criminally charged.
"I was certainly
surprised by the involvement of the AG's office," Leahy told the AP. "They
don't ordinarily get involved in these matters."
Reilly, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor, acknowledged
yesterday that he called Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte to urge
him to keep the records private. But Reilly said he did it to protect the
grieving family from publicity, because members of the news media were
seeking the records.
"I called the district attorney and certainly was aware [of] this situation,
was following [it]. . . . These are private medical records, and they were
not public records and should not be released," Reilly said last night on
"Greater Boston" on WGBH-TV.
Asked about his involvement, Reilly added: "I've had many conversations with
district attorneys on cases, but, first and foremost, it was the family and
the suffering they'd gone [through]. This shouldn't have even gotten this
far; this family suffered enough."
Killed in the Oct. 13 accident were Shauna Murphy, 17, and Meghan Murphy,
15, of South borough. The girl's father, Christopher Murphy, is a friend of
Reilly's, according to Reilly's office, and he donated $300 to Reilly's
campaign last June.
A man who identified himself as Christopher Murphy declined to comment when
reached by telephone last night. Leahy, the Northborough police chief, also
did not return phone messages left by the Globe yesterday.
Although the accident occurred in Southborough, Northborough police were
investigating whether the teenagers had obtained liquor in Northborough just
before the crash. Leahy told the Associated Press that his investigators
believed that the teenagers had been drinking, based on second-hand
information.
Reilly said that he "never spoke to the family about this at all, but I did
decide that those toxicology reports were their records, the records of
their children, and they should be protected, their privacy should be
protected."
"I wish people, I wish the media, would just leave it alone," he said.
In an interview yesterday, Conte said Reilly called him in the last month to
discuss the requests by the news media to release the records. He said
Reilly did not discuss the issue of giving the reports to Northborough
police.
Conte said he had already concluded that state law prevented him from
releasing the records. Conte said that by law he cannot comment on autopsy
reports, including whether alcohol was found in the girls' blood.
"I can't release them, because they are not public records," Conte told the
Globe. He said he can only release the records to a family member, not to
the news media.
Conte said he saw no need to share the autopsy reports with police, since
both his office's investigation and the reports that he had seen from the
Northborough police showed no evidence that a crime of supplying liquor to a
minor could be proven.
"We had, at the time, reports of furnishing liquor to minors, but we decided
that would not [fly]," Conte told the Globe, saying a criminal case could
not be proven. "Subsequently, we have obtained reports of the investigation
by Northborough police, and those indicate that charge cannot be
substantiated."
Asked whether the investigation would continue, Conte said: "I don't see any
further purpose."
He also said he found nothing unusual about the call from Reilly. "It's a
very casual relationship," he said, when asked if he was surprised by the
attorney general's call. Reilly had served two terms as district attorney in
neighboring Middlesex County before being elected attorney general in 1998.
The two teenagers were killed when their sport utility vehicle, traveling 59
miles an hour in a 35-mile-per-hour zone, slammed into a pole at about 1
a.m. on Oct. 13. They had been watching a baseball playoff game earlier. The
two were students at Algonquin Regional High School. A third passenger,
Melissa Smith, 15, of Northborough was injured in the crash. There were no
signs of alcohol at the scene.
Emily LaGrassa, a spokes woman for Middlesex District Attorney Martha
Coakley, agreed with Conte that autopsy reports are not public records. The
district attorney typically releases information on the cause and manner of
deaths being investigated by the office, she said.
January 5, 2006
AG advised DA to be mum on alcohol levels in fatal
Boston Herald (MA)
Author: LISA GENTES and KRISTEN BRADLEY (METROWEST DAILY NEWS)
Attorney General Tom Reilly acknowledged publicly for the first time last night that he advised Worcester County District Attorney John Conte that he did not have to give local police records showing the blood-alcohol levels of two Southboro sisters killed in an October automobile crash.
Reilly, who is a
friend of the girls' parents and accepted a $300 campaign contribution from
them in the past, told WGBH's Greater Boston the blood-alcohol data was
private.
"They didn't hurt anybody but themselves," he said - even though 15-year-old
Melissa Smith of Northboro was seriously injured in the crash.
As for why the records should be withheld, he said, "I thought the family
has suffered enough . . . this shouldn't have gotten this far. Let it be.
Let them move on if they can. I wish the media would let this go."
Meanwhile, Conte's office, after initial hesitation, has taken preliminary
steps toward what could be an investigation into the incident after the
MetroWest Daily News reported the 17-year-old driver, Shauna Murphy, had
been drinking at a party before the accident.
On Dec. 20, an administrator said there was not likely to be any charges
related to the crash, which killed Murphy and her 15-year-old sister,
Meghan. Investigators in such cases often will try to determine who broke
the law by giving minors alcohol.
But Northboro police Chief Mark Leahy said yesterday a representative from
Conte's office on Tuesday picked up a copy of the department's investigation
into whether the girls had been drinking at a party in Northboro before the
accident.
Northboro police began investigating after learning that Shauna and Meghan
Murphy may have been drinking at a house party hosted by a Northboro
resident, a source close to the investigation has said.
The girl's father, Christopher Murphy, said yesterday that the family is
still grieving and "we can't talk."
January 5, 2006
DA won't seek crash
charges -
Police asked about alcohol
Author: Patricia J. James, Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)
Worcester District
Attorney John J. Conte said last night that he has no plans to seek any
charges related to the SUV accident in which two teenage sisters from
Southboro were killed and another girl suffered injuries.
Earlier last night, Northboro Police Chief Mark K. Leahy said that his
department had sent a report on its investigation to Mr. Conte and he was
waiting to hear whether there were grounds for charges of procuring alcohol
for a minor.
Shauna M. Murphy, 17,
was driving a Land Rover on Oct. 13 when it crashed into a utility pole on
Northboro Road in Southboro about 1 a.m. She and her 15-year-old sister,
Meghan C. Murphy, were killed. A second passenger, 15-year-old Melissa Smith
of Northboro, was injured. All three were students at Algonquin Regional
High School in Northboro.
Friends of the sisters have said the girls were watching an American League
playoff game between the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels at another
friend's house in Northboro before the accident.
Chief Leahy yesterday did not discuss the details of the investigation. The
Associated Press yesterday reported that Chief Leahy said detectives believe
the sisters had been drinking. The detectives based that conclusion on
secondhand information from other law enforcement sources, the AP sa