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Ex-building inspector bilked dying woman of home
http://www.lowellsun.com/local/ci_31008382/jury-ex-lowell-building-inspector-bilked-dying-woman
Former Lowell Massachusetts Building Inspector David St. Hilaire knew his elderly neighbor was mentally incapacitated when he got her to sign her home over to him as she lay on her deathbed in 2010, a jury determined on Monday.
St. Hilaire was found guilty of larceny over $250 from an elderly person following a weeklong jury trial in Middlesex Superior Court. Judge Bruce Henry scheduled sentencing for Thursday at 2 p.m.
St. Hilaire was convicted of the same charge in 2012 following a bench trial, but the Supreme Judicial Court overturned that conviction in 2015 when it ruled the judge in the case erred by not requiring proof that St. Hilaire knew his neighbor was incapacitated.
The jury spent less than three hours deliberating after a retrial this week.
St. Hilaire got his longtime neighbor, Erika Magill, to sign her property at 205 Billerica St., over to him on July 26, 2010, as she was critically ill in a nursing home.
St. Hilaire said Magill agreed to let him have the property in exchange for two mortgages totaling about $92,000, and for a "life estate" that let her live in the home until her death.
Magill died about two weeks later, and never saw a penny of the promised payments.
Two weeks before she signed the property over to St. Hilaire, Magill had her attorney, state Sen. Eileen Donoghue, update her will to make longtime friend and caretaker Lisa Miele the sole beneficiary of the property.
Assistant District Attorney Heidi Gosule said Magill, before she fell ill, told several friends that St.
Hilaire had always wanted her property, but that "no way in hell was he ever getting it."
St. Hilaire's attorney, Steven Rappaport, told the jury Magill had her will updated on July 13, 2010, because she was scared she would not survive an upcoming surgery.
But by the 26th, when she signed St. Hilaire's paperwork, Magill was no longer scared of death and was instead worried about her paying her bills, Rappaport said.
"The purpose of the transaction was to give Erika a steady flow of income so she could pay her bills and remain in her house," Rappaport said. "This is certainly not an unfair deal, at least in my opinion."
Gos ule disputed that Magill was worried about paying her bills, because her medical expenses were covered by Medicare and Medicaid.
Rappaport told the jury medical records show Magill's condition changed several times in the weeks leading up to her death, and that she at times appeared to be thinking clearly.
He acknowledged a competency evaluation was performed on Magill, but said St. Hilaire was not a health-care proxy for Magill and did not have had access to the evaluation's results.
"Dave didn't know about this exam. He's not her health-care proxy," Rappaport said. "Dave thought she was OK. He didn't know she didn't understand."
But Gosule said Magill's condition quickly deteriorated in the days before she signed St. Hilaire's paperwork.
"I would suggest it would have been obvious to a stranger that Erika Magill was not competent to consent, and the defendant was there twice a day," Gosule said. "Of course he knew she wasn't competent. Of course he knew she couldn't consent."
Gosule suggested the jury should disregard St. Hilaire's statement to police in which he said Magill had "never looked better" than she had on the 26th.
She said Magill was suffering from a major infection at the time, and called it "outrageous" that St. Hilaire could have thought she never looked better.
"All you have to do is use your common sense and everyday experience to know that he's lying. He's lying because he knew what he was doing," Gosule said. "What the defendant did is outrageous. What he wants you to believe is outrageous."
http://www.lowellsun.com/local/ci_31008382/jury-ex-lowell-building-inspector-bilked-dying-woman
Former Lowell Massachusetts Building Inspector David St. Hilaire knew his elderly neighbor was mentally incapacitated when he got her to sign her home over to him as she lay on her deathbed in 2010, a jury determined on Monday.
St. Hilaire was found guilty of larceny over $250 from an elderly person following a weeklong jury trial in Middlesex Superior Court. Judge Bruce Henry scheduled sentencing for Thursday at 2 p.m.
St. Hilaire was convicted of the same charge in 2012 following a bench trial, but the Supreme Judicial Court overturned that conviction in 2015 when it ruled the judge in the case erred by not requiring proof that St. Hilaire knew his neighbor was incapacitated.
The jury spent less than three hours deliberating after a retrial this week.
St. Hilaire got his longtime neighbor, Erika Magill, to sign her property at 205 Billerica St., over to him on July 26, 2010, as she was critically ill in a nursing home.
St. Hilaire said Magill agreed to let him have the property in exchange for two mortgages totaling about $92,000, and for a "life estate" that let her live in the home until her death.
Magill died about two weeks later, and never saw a penny of the promised payments.
Two weeks before she signed the property over to St. Hilaire, Magill had her attorney, state Sen. Eileen Donoghue, update her will to make longtime friend and caretaker Lisa Miele the sole beneficiary of the property.
Assistant District Attorney Heidi Gosule said Magill, before she fell ill, told several friends that St.
Hilaire had always wanted her property, but that "no way in hell was he ever getting it."
St. Hilaire's attorney, Steven Rappaport, told the jury Magill had her will updated on July 13, 2010, because she was scared she would not survive an upcoming surgery.
But by the 26th, when she signed St. Hilaire's paperwork, Magill was no longer scared of death and was instead worried about her paying her bills, Rappaport said.
"The purpose of the transaction was to give Erika a steady flow of income so she could pay her bills and remain in her house," Rappaport said. "This is certainly not an unfair deal, at least in my opinion."
Gos ule disputed that Magill was worried about paying her bills, because her medical expenses were covered by Medicare and Medicaid.
Rappaport told the jury medical records show Magill's condition changed several times in the weeks leading up to her death, and that she at times appeared to be thinking clearly.
He acknowledged a competency evaluation was performed on Magill, but said St. Hilaire was not a health-care proxy for Magill and did not have had access to the evaluation's results.
"Dave didn't know about this exam. He's not her health-care proxy," Rappaport said. "Dave thought she was OK. He didn't know she didn't understand."
But Gosule said Magill's condition quickly deteriorated in the days before she signed St. Hilaire's paperwork.
"I would suggest it would have been obvious to a stranger that Erika Magill was not competent to consent, and the defendant was there twice a day," Gosule said. "Of course he knew she wasn't competent. Of course he knew she couldn't consent."
Gosule suggested the jury should disregard St. Hilaire's statement to police in which he said Magill had "never looked better" than she had on the 26th.
She said Magill was suffering from a major infection at the time, and called it "outrageous" that St. Hilaire could have thought she never looked better.
"All you have to do is use your common sense and everyday experience to know that he's lying. He's lying because he knew what he was doing," Gosule said. "What the defendant did is outrageous. What he wants you to believe is outrageous."