Hung Jury in Murder Trial in Plymouth County, Massachusetts

Practicing law in Marshfield, Massachusetts, Craig Kowalski focuses on a full range of general education and special education law matters as attorney with Nuttall, MacAvoy & Joyce, PC. Having handled a wide range of criminal cases as Norfolk County prosecutor, attorney Craig Kowalski maintains a close watch on cases in his local area. In April 2019, he was sought out by the Patriot Ledger for observations on a unusual Plymouth County case that raised the possibility of a hung jury.

The case centered on Michael Moscaritolo, the first among four defendants who went on trial for the killing of Robert McKenna. The retired Marshfield stockbroker was found dead in his kitchen in 2015.

The prosecutors argued that Moscaritolo and a pair of other men staged a break in of the home, with the intention of stealing his African art and guns collection, in addition to marijuana from an on-site growing operation. In the process, McKenna had his head pushed through a window, which severed an artery, and was hit with a frying pan over the head.

Over the course of the two-week trial, prosecutors were not able to furnish much evidence tying Moscaritolo to the scene of the crime. As Mr. Kowalski described it to the Patriot Ledger, the length of the deliberations was “unusual,” with the jury likely struggling with a lack of eyewitness evidence. As it unfolded, a jury verdict was not reached, a mistrial was declared, and the district attorney’s office then set about preparing a second murder trial for Moscaritolo.