Shooting Survivor Among The First To Testify In Charlestown Murder Trial
BOSTON (CBS) - "That's my son," said the tearful Stephen Morrissey, pointing to a photo of his teenage son murdered in the neighborhood he called home. Morrissey then watched as prosecutors played surveillance video of Ryan Morrissey's last moments alive in a Charlestown convenience store with his friends.
The murder trial of three men began Wednesday. Alex Soto, Danilo Soto, and Julio Baez are accused in the shooting death of the 17-year-old high school hockey player. His friend James Lawton was also shot and survived to tell his story. "I heard all the gunshots, and I felt a sharp pain and I fell to the ground and covered my head and I started crawling as much as I could," he said.
They were the first witnesses, after jurors went on a bus trip to see the crime scene. Before that, attorneys began with opening statements. Morrissey's family was emotional listening to prosecutor John Verner. "They turn, they pull out their guns and they fire and they fire and they fire and they fire and they fire," Verner said.
Boston police have said the shooters mistook Morrissey for their intended target outside the store in November of 2014. But each of the defendants' attorneys took a turn hammering the same point. "The proof in this case is woefully short," said defense attorney John Amabile. "No credible witnesses," said defense attorney Steve Sack. "And there will be no credible evidence."
There was another potential witness at the crime scene seen in the surveillance. Daniel Goggin pleaded guilty in 2016 to refusing to provide information to the grand jury investigating the case. He was sentenced to two years behind bars.