BRATTLEBORO- Jurors in the second-degree murder case of David Boglioli began their second full day of deliberations Thursday morning. Boglioli claims he shot his neighbor, George Riccitelli, in self-defense.

The case went to the jury late Tuesday afternoon, and jurors worked into the evening. On Wednesday, jurors asked to see evidence in the trial, including photographs, taped recordings of Boglioli’s phone calls to family members from jail, and videotape from the first police cruiser to arrive at the scene.

At about 4 pm, Judge Karen Carroll called attorneys back into the courtroom. There was no verdict, she said, in fact, jurors had sent word that they hadn’t reached a unanimous decision, and they were unsure how to move forward. Carroll said she planned to call the jury in and encourage them to continue, perhaps after breaking for the day.

But before jurors could be called in, the judge received another note asking about the state’s burden of proof for Boglioli’s self-defense. The note was ambiguously worded, but appeared to indicate jurors were considering whether some, but not all of the legal elements of self-defense had been met. The note asked specifically whether they should acquit if they believed two of the three elements had been met, but the state had “disproven one of (the elements).”

With the jury back in the courtroom, Carroll asked them to keep working toward a verdict. “It’s important to both the state and Mr. Boglioli to have this issue settled,” Carroll said.

To address the question of how they should decide on the issue of self-defense, Carroll re-read a section of her 16-page jury instructions. “The state need disprove only one of the above circumstances justifying self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt. The state need not disprove all of the above circumstances justifying self-defense. For example, the state may disprove any of the following circumstances: belief by the defendant of imminent risk of serious bodily injury or death; the force used was necessary and proportionate; and the defendant was not at fault for bringing about the situation surrounding the death. If the state disproves any of these circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt, you must find that the defendant did not act in self-defense.”

Jurors deliberated for about another hour before sending out a note indicating they were done for the day, and would return to the task at 8:30 Thursday morning.

In her instructions to the jury, Carroll also included the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. If jurors find Boglioli did not act in self-defense, and therefore unlawfully killed Riccitelli, but the shooting doesn’t meet the criteria for second-degree murder, they may find him guilty of voluntary manslaughter.

If convicted of second-degree murder, Boglioli could face a sentence of 20 years to life in prison. Voluntary manslaughter carries a penalty of one to 15 years.

On Friday, June 26, prosecutors wrapped up their case, ending with Boglioli’s own words, from phone recordings made while he was in custody.

In an excerpt from a call with Frank Palmisano, Boglioli appeared to indicate that shooting Riccitelli had solved problems he had been having with his landlord, Ken Willis, who was trying to get him to move out of his house. The defense contends that Riccitelli was Willis’ “henchman.” “I just got rid of the problem,” he said. “I just killed the problem. He was after me for 10 years. Kenny (Willis) never came after me. I just swept my problem away.”

In a call to Dorinda Palmisano, he told her “this couldn’t have gone any other way. It was destined to go that way. I couldn’t let myself be driven out.” In another call, he said “I dug myself in there. I had a big investment in that house, and f--- him, I wasn’t going to let him drive me out. He made a big mistake by underestimating me, and I’d do it again in a minute in a case like that.”

On Monday Boglioli took the stand in his own defense. Boglioli told the court how his relationship with Riccitelli had soured over the dozen years he had lived on Greenwich Road. Boglioli said he originally lived in “the big house,” belonging to Ken Willis, whom he had known since his childhood. Eventually, a small house belonging to Willis became available, and Boglioli said he struck a deal with Willis for lifetime tenancy. Boglioli spent $13,000 of his own savings to fix up the place and, according to Boglioli, he was to live in the place at a fixed rent for the rest of his life. “I loved my house,” he said. “The only thing I loved more was my pets.”

For the last several years, Boglioli said, Riccitelli had become aggressive and abusive toward him. Following the shooting, marijuana-growing equipment, marijuana paraphernalia, and 169 marijuana plants were found in Riccitelli’s apartment, Willis’ house, and around the apartment. Boglioli claimed that one of the reasons Willis and Riccitelli wanted him out of the house was that they feared he would report the marijuana-growing activities to police.

At about 9:30 on the morning of August 15, 2008, Boglioli said he looked out his window to make sure Riccitelli wasn’t outside before taking his trash to a dumpster located in the cul-de-sac. He had an appointment to meet a friend and go shopping. As he stepped off the deck of his small house and walked in front of neighbor Jill Embree’s house, Boglioli said he was aware that Riccitelli had stepped out from between two houses on the opposite side of the road. “He (Riccitelli) swung an ax handle, and the motion alerted me,” Boglioli said. “But I would have been aware of any motion. He had an ax handle, he swung it, and kept walking.”

Boglioli said he threw his trash in the dumpster, and heard Riccitelli say from behind, “I want you out of the house, and you have four days.” When he turned around, Riccitelli was three feet away from him, threatening him with an ax handle, Boglioli said. He demonstrated how Riccitelli held the ax handle over his shoulder, ready to swing, like a baseball bat. Boglioli said he pulled his gun out of his pocket, and Riccitelli told him to “go ahead and use your gun.”

“I pulled the trigger,” Boglioli said. “I felt George (Riccitelli) was going to use the ax handle. I was looking into his eyes, and the ax handle was coming.”

Also on Monday and Tuesday, several witnesses testified about incidents of violence perpetrated by Riccitelli.

On Tuesday, before the case went to the jury, attorneys presented their final summations.

Deputy state’s attorney David Gartenstein said the state had proven Boglioli shot and killed Riccitelli, and that Riccitelli wasn’t carrying an ax handle as Boglioli claims. Shortly after he was taken into custody, Boglioli told police Riccitelli’s weapon, an ax handle, was on the ground near the spot where the confrontation took place. Police later found an ax handle in the nearby dumpster, and the defense contends that someone, one of the witnesses, moved the ax handle. “The evidence proves that didn’t happen,” Gartenstein told jurors.

In his testimony, Boglioli said that Riccitelli had been harassing him for years, and shot at his house with darts, BB guns, arrows, rocks, and other projectiles. “And he never reported that to the police,” Gartenstein said. “How credible is that?”

Defense attorney Matt Harnett picked up the evidence bag containing the ax handle and, showing it to jurors, asked “Who in Vermont takes a perfectly good ax handle and throws it in the dumpster? It never had a (ax) head on it. Who would do that?”

Harnett said Boglioli had spent a number of years avoiding confrontation with Riccitelli. Boglioli testified that it was his “habit” to look out his windows before leaving the house to make sure Riccitelli wasn’t around.

Boglioli became emotional, sobbing throughout Harnett’s summation as he described the events leading to Riccitelli’s shooting on August 15, 2008.

“George Riccitelli cornered (Boglioli) and was about to take off his head with this ax handle,” Harnett said, holding the ax handle like a baseball bat, “and that’s when he shot him. You have reasonable doubt. The state has failed to disprove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt.”