Christina Martin
Bristol County, Massachusetts
Date of Alleged Crime: January 21, 1990
Christina Martin was convicted of murdering her boyfriend,
Richard Alfredo, 61. Alfredo died in his home after a long history of
heart disease. Initially, it was assumed the disease was the cause of
his death and no autopsy was performed. Alfredo's assets worth about
$25,000 went to his estranged wife and her children while Martin and her
children continued to live in the home she had shared with Alfredo. Four weeks after Alfredo's death, rumors surfaced that Alfredo was poisoned. Martin's daughter had told high school friends that Alfredo had made sexual
advances toward her, and that her mother got revenge by serving him Jell-O
laced with LSD.
LSD is an illicit hallucinogen and can cause a rapid increase in heart rate. Such an increase can be fatal to someone with a diseased heart like
Alfredo's. Alfredo's body was exhumed and tests indicated the presence
of LSD. The medical examiner then ruled the death a homicide and
listed the cause of death as “Acute LSD Intoxication.” When police
went to arrest Martin, they found that she and her daughter had fled, but
phone records indicated they two were in Montreal, Canada, where they were
captured.
At Martin's trial, the judge took her lawyer aside for not cross-examining
forensic witnesses, but the lawyer assured him that he would defend against
such testimony later, which he never did. A local drug dealer also
testified that he sold 30 doses of LSD to a small group that included Martin
and her daughter. Seven years after Martin's conviction, her new
lawyer, Kevin Mahoney, a public defender, went to the courthouse to get her
case file. While there, he struck up a conversation with a prosecutor
about the case. The prosecutor told him to look very closely at the
official cause of death.
Mahoney found out from a pharmacologist that there had never been a case
reported where a person had died from the direct effects of LSD. Therefore, the listed cause of death was very unlikely. Secondly, the
test kit used to determine the presence of LSD was designed only for fresh
urine samples, not cadaver tissue. It contained a warning label that
it gave a preliminary result and required confirmation by tests that are
more accurate. Mahoney then found out that the prosecution had
performed multiple confirmatory tests but they all came back negative. The prosecution was required by the Brady Doctrine to turn over all
exculpatory evidence to the defense without being asked, but it had violated
this rule.
On appeal, Martin got a new trial. Rather than remain in prison while
awaiting a new trial, she pleaded guilty to manslaughter in exchange for
time served. She maintained her innocence. [12/06]
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Reference: Forensic
Files
Posted in:
Victims of the State,
Massachusetts Cases,
Husband Murder Cases
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