Deb Valois points to a photograph while on the witness stand at the murder trial of David Boglioli. M. Eldred
Defense attorney Matt Harnett began his cross-examination of Willis on Tuesday, asking him a number of questions about statements he had made after the shooting. In an attempt to refresh Willis’ memory about statements he made in a sworn deposition taken in January 2009, Harnett asked Willis to review the document. But Willis seemed uninterested in reading from his deposition. He said he had started reading the deposition, but stopped halfway through. “That thing’s a fake,” he told Harnett. Later, Willis agreed to take a break from his testimony and read the deposition and correct any errors, but a short time later, attorneys returned to the courtroom to announce that he refused to read the deposition. Finally, prosecutors, defense, and Willis agreed to have someone work through the deposition with him outside the courtroom. On Wednesday, Willis agreed that the deposition, with minor corrections, was an accurate transcript of what he told Harnett in January.
Harnett asked Willis whether he had ever told investigators that Riccitelli had threatened Boglioli, and that in at least one instance, Willis had to act to restrain Riccitelli from hurting Boglioli. “Did (Riccitelli) ever say anything about wanting to hurt (Boglioli)?” asked Harnett.
“Hurt him? Yeah,” said Willis. “The worst thing he said was that he’d give him a beating. But he said that about everyone. Hell, I wanted to give him a beating.” Willis had previously testified that he wanted Boglioli to move out of the house he rented from Willis because of landlord-tenant disagreements, as well as conflicts with neighbors.
Harnett also questioned Willis about where Deb Valois and Tiffany Oxley were located in the moments before the shooting. Willis said the two were out on the deck that overlooks Greenwich Road drinking, he assumed, coffee. Both Valois and Oxley indicated they were inside at the time.
Harnett also questioned Willis about inconsistencies between his testimony and events as they unfolded on Wilmington police officer Matt Murano’s in-car video recorder. After reviewing the video, Willis agreed that his recollection of his movements in the period just after police arrived wasn’t consistent with what was on the video. But he maintained that his memory of key events was correct.
In direct testimony on Tuesday, Willis said he knew some marijuana was being grown on the property, but that he had no direct connection to it. “I knew it was around,” he said. “I kept saying it’s got to go, we’ve got to get this place cleaned up. Everybody was on my back to get rid of it.”
But on Wednesday, Wilmington Police Detective Mark Denault testified under cross-examination that police found drug paraphernalia and marijuana residue in Willis’ living quarters. Items found included two bongs, or water pipes used for smoking marijuana, at least four marijuana pipes, an ashtray and wooden bowl with marijuana residue, and a number of ziplock baggies with marijuana residue.
In addition, Denault said, 169 marijuana plants were confiscated from Riccitelli’s basement apartment, as well as a back bedroom in an addition to the main part of Willis’ house, and on the roof of the house. Several pairs of nunchucks, a weapon consisting of two short clubs connected by a chain and used in martial arts, were found in Riccitelli’s apartment. Willis testified that Riccitelli enjoyed making the weapons, but that he wasn’t very proficient at using them.
Denault also testified about several statements Boglioli made in his presence on the day of the shooting. Even as he was being taken into custody, and several times throughout the morning, Boglioli told police that he acted in self-defense. At one point, while Boglioli was in the back of a state police cruiser, he signaled that he wanted to talk to Denault. On the audio from a police cruiser video taken the morning of the shooting, Boglioli and Denault’s discussion could be heard.
“Did you see his weapon?” Boglioli asked Denault. “It was right near his body. Before it disappears.”
“You know you don’t have to talk to me, right?” Denault said, reminding Boglioli of his rights. Boglioli indicated he wanted Denault to have the information.
“It looked like an ax handle or a chopped-down two-by-four,” Boglioli said.
While Boglioli was in custody at the Wilmington Police Department, he repeated his claim of self-defense. “He said it was his gun, he bought it, and he shot it,” Denault recalled. “He said ‘it was self-defense, capital S, capital D.’”
Because Boglioli claimed to have been attacked by Riccitelli, he was photographed for injuries at the Vermont State Police barracks in Brattleboro. Prosecutors attempted to move the photos into evidence but, after an objection and brief consultation, prosecutors and defense stipulated that there were no visible injuries on Boglioli’s body.
Denault also testified about several occasions before the shooting when he responded to calls placed by Boglioli regarding Riccitelli and Willis. In one instance, Boglioli complained that someone, Riccitelli he believed, put a cat in his house to harm his pets, a bird and a hamster. On another occasion, Boglioli complained that two men, Riccitelli and Willis, were beating on his door and threatening him. After another confrontation, Boglioli told Denault that Riccitelli had grabbed him by the neck, pushed him, and struck him. On several occasions, Denault said, he offered to help Boglioli get a no trespassing order prohibiting Riccitelli and Willis from coming on Boglioli’s property. Each time, Boglioli declined. Under cross-examination, Denault agreed that a no trespassing order would not physically bar Riccitelli or Willis from the property. “It’s a tool law enforcement can use if there’s a problem in the future,” Denault said. “We can arrest someone.” But, according to Denault, Boglioli said he was concerned about retaliation by Riccitelli and Willis.
Dover Town Clerk Andy McLean, a friend of Boglioli’s, testified that Boglioli had told him that Riccitelli had punched him, “once, years ago,” and that Boglioli was concerned about what Riccitelli might do in the future. “He said (Riccitelli) intimidated him in some way,” McLean said. “He was afraid of (Riccitelli) and afraid he would break into (Boglioli’s) home and kill him.”
McLean also told the court that he received a call from Boglioli on the morning of the shooting, apparently just after the shooting, but before police arrived on the scene. McLean answered the phone and asked Boglioli how he was doing. “He said ‘not so good. I just shot George,’” McLean recalled. “He told me that he had been outside, either taking the trash out or waiting for a ride, when he saw (Riccitelli) coming at him swinging an ax handle, but it was bigger than a regular ax handle. He told me (Riccitelli) said ‘c’mon, motherf-----, let’s get this over with.’ When (Riccitelli) got within two feet of him, he pulled out a gun and shot him.”
McLean said Boglioli called him because he and his wife were two of Boglioli’s closest friends. Boglioli asked McLean to keep track of him, and to take care of his pets. “He loved his pets,” McLean said.
The trial began on Friday, after four days of jury selection. Windham County State’s Attorney David Gartenstein said a number of jurors were rejected either because they knew one of the 187 witnesses in the case, or because they had strong opinions about gun control.
The court heard testimony from Wilmington police officer Greg Murano, who was driving on Higley Hill Road when he received a call regarding the shooting. The court viewed a video recording from Murano’s police car showing what he saw when he arrived at Greenwich Road. Riccitelli’s body was lying in the road. Willis, Valois, and Oxley were standing at the end of the cul-de-sac, in the vicinity of the body.
On the audio picked up by a wireless microphone on Murano’s belt, the court could hear Boglioli telling Murano that the incident was precipitated by the marijuana plants, which he said Riccitelli had put on his deck. “It was for what he did last night,” Boglioli told Murano. I’ve been keeping you posted on this. It’s been coming for a long time.” Boglioli told Murano he had thrown the plants into the road and had informed Willis of the situation. When Riccitelli found out, Boglioli said, “George was out there (in front of Boglioli’s house) yelling ‘I’m going to kill you’ and all that shit.”
On Monday, Oxley testified that she was in Willis’ home when she saw Boglioli walking toward a dumpster at the Greenwich Road complex, carrying his trash. Riccitelli was walking about 15 feet behind Boglioli. Oxley said she knew the two men didn’t get along, and alerted her mother to the situation. She said her mother and Willis started for the sliding glass door, when she heard a gunshot.
At the time of the gunshot, Oxley said, her view of Boglioli was blocked by a vertical culvert that serves as a central support column for spiral stairs that lead up to the deck at Willis’ house. What she could see, however, was Riccitelli, with his hands in the air at about shoulder height, as if he was talking with Boglioli. “Then I heard a gunshot and saw him fall back, straight back, like someone pushed him,” Oxley said. “Mom and Ken ran outside. Ken said “the f----- shot him.”
But under cross-examination, defense attorney Matt Harnett called Oxley’s testimony, and her testimony of subsequent events, into question. Several times he asked Oxley about inconsistencies in her statements to police and sworn depositions. Several times Oxley said she didn’t remember what she told police or said in her deposition.
Jill Embree, who lives on Greenwich Road between Boglioli’s residence and the house where Riccitelli’s apartment was located, said she was at her computer when she heard what sounded like a backfire. “It reverberated on the floor under my feet,” she said.
When she looked out the window, Embree said, she saw Boglioli walking down the road, away from the dumpster, headed toward his house. Embree said Boglioli was carrying “a very long gun.” As he turned and began to walk back toward his house, Embree said, she heard Boglioli say “‘so who’s crazy now?’ or something to that effect.” Embree called 911, and remained on the floor until police arrived.
Valois also took the stand and described what occurred the morning of the shooting, her story closely matching that of Oxley, her daughter. But on Tuesday, Harnett questioned her about a number of inconsistencies between her testimony in court and previous sworn statements and depositions. He also asked her if she recalled contacting the office of the state victim’s advocate to tell them that she was “all drugged out” after taking two Valiums on the morning of the shooting (after the incident), and she didn’t want to be held accountable for her statements to police that morning. Valois eventually agreed that she had contacted the victim’s advocate with her concerns.
On Tuesday, Willis told the court that he had known Boglioli for about 55 years, and had known Riccitelli for 10 to 12 years. Willis’ father and Boglioli’s father were partners in a retail furniture business in New York. The acquaintanceship continued after Willis, a cabinetmaker, closed his father’s furniture business and opened his own custom furniture shop.
Willis said he left New York and moved to Vermont, where he purchased land and built a number of houses, including the houses at Greenwich Road. Willis said that Boglioli moved up from New York at his invitation, after a phone call. Gartenstein asked Willis to describe the call without revealing the exact circumstances that prompted Boglioli’s move. “I just told him to come up here,” Willis said. “I said ‘it sounds too crazy down there, come up here and get out of that mess.’” Boglioli was originally from Hicksville, NY.
About 12 years ago, Willis said, he met and befriended Riccitelli. “Funny guy,” he said, of his first meeting with Riccitelli. “He wanted to buy my sledgehammer. He said he collects them. It seems strange. But the more he was around, the more you get to like him.” Several years later, Riccitelli moved into an apartment in the basement of Willis’ house.
On the morning of the shooting, Willis said he was in his bedroom watching television when he heard Valois, who had come in to make coffee, yell that Boglioli was carrying his garbage up to the dumpster, and Riccitelli was heading toward him. Willis said he got up and headed out of the house. By the time he got to the bottom of the steps he saw his friend lying on the ground, Boglioli standing near him with a gun. “I said give me that thing, jerk,” Willis said. “I said it again, and he turned and walked away.”
Willis said he went after Boglioli, attempting to get the gun away from him. “I followed, and he kept going, so I stopped and went back to see how George was doing.”
Willis said the extent of Riccitelli’s injury wasn’t evident at first. “He was lying there with a little smile on his face,” Willis said, his voice cracking with emotion. “I picked up his shirt (and saw the bullet entry wound) and hollered up ‘this is serious, call 911.’ Then I sat next to the house. I didn’t know what to do.”
Soon, Willis said, “all hell broke loose” when police arrived at the scene.
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