By Gary V. Murray TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
gmurray@telegram.com
WORCESTER — A 34-year-old city man was sentenced to life imprisonment with a possibility of parole in 15 years after pleading guilty today to second-degree murder in the 2007 fatal stabbing of his ex-girlfriend.
Justin Hiser, 34, formerly of 44 Gage St., was charged with first-degree murder in the Nov. 27, 2007, stabbing death of 28-year-old Ronda Healy, with whom he had two children, but pleaded guilty in Worcester Superior Court to a reduced charge of second-degree murder.
Judge James R. Lemire accepted the plea and imposed the statutory sentence for second-degree murder, life imprisonment with the possibility of parole in 15 years. A conviction for first-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without parole.
Mr. Hiser was charged with stabbing Ms. Healy in the upper left chest about 3:15 p.m. Nov. 27, 2007, in the parking lot of T.G.I. Friday's restaurant at The Shoppes at Blackstone Valley in Millbury, where she worked. Authorities said he then dropped the knife and drove off, later leading police on a motor vehicle chase through Grafton, Westboro and Southboro.
Assistant District Attorney Joseph A. Quinlan said Mr. Hiser was involved in a hit-and-run accident in Grafton about an hour and 45 minutes after the fatal stabbing. Police began their pursuit at that point and Mr. Hiser was eventually stopped and taken into custody by Westboro police, according to the prosecutor.
Westboro police contacted state police detectives after Mr. Hiser made a comment to them about having killed someone, Mr. Quinlan told the court.
Ms. Healy was taken by ambulance from Millbury to St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, where she was pronounced dead at 3:45 p.m.
Mr. Hiser's lawyer, Edward P. Ryan Jr., notified prosecutors last year of his intent to raise a psychiatric defense on Mr. Hiser's behalf. The motice was filed after Mr. Ryan had Mr. Hiser evaluated by a psychiatrist and psychologist.
Mr. Quinlan told Judge Lemire today that one of the reasons his office agreed to let Mr. Hiser plead guilty to the reduced charge of second-degree murder was that Mr. Hiser was undergoing treatment for an illness at the time of the killing and was taking Interferon, a drug with side effects that can include suicidal and homicidal ideations.
While a mental health expert hired by the prosecution to evaluate Mr. Hiser found that he was criminally responsible at the time of the fatal stabbing, the expert would have had to concede on the witness stand at trial that Interferon can cause suicidal or homicidal thoughts, Mr. Quinlan said.
More than a dozen members of Ms. Healy's family were in court for the plea hearing.
“My life truly ended on Nov. 27, 2007,” Ms. Healy's daughter, Natasha Healy, said in a prepared impact statement she read in court.
“This man I called my father took away everything from me,” she said.
“You took their mother from them and by doing so, you took their father, also,” said Ms. Healy's sister, Amanda Thompson.
“You left countless people with holes in their hearts filled with pain and sorrow,” she said.
Mr. Hiser was also charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, failure to stop for police and resisting arrest. Those charges were dismissed at Mr. Quinlan's request under the plea agreement.
Mr. Hiser was given credit for 553 days he spent in custody awaiting trial.
“This is a tragic outcome in a tragic case,” Mr. Ryan said after the plea hearing. “Justin Hiser was a good father. He had custody of his children through court orders because he was a good father.
“This was truly a tragedy for everybody,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment