Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 2, 1991 TAG: 9103020422
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREGORY LANG/ SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: SALEM, MASS. LENGTH: Medium
The 44-year-old Roanoke, Va., man was sentenced to life in prison with the chance of parole in 15 years.
Members of both the Autiello and Colby families, sitting only a few feet apart in the courtroom, wept as the verdict was read.
Annette Autiello, the victim's sister-in-law, gave an emotional statement about the toll the years have had on the victim's daughter, Gina, who was 4 when her mother was killed.
Gina had been in the blood-soaked bedroom where her mother, 30, was killed.
"Gina Autiello was deprived of a mother for the rest of her life," said Annette Autiello. ". . . We hope Colby will never see the outside light."
She offered sympathy to Colby's family, particularly his 12-year-old son. "But that son will never be deprived of a mother, like Gina Autiello was," she said.
"God took her father because of illness. We can accept that," Annette Autiello said. "But we could not accept the death of her mother."
Colby's wife and sister sat crying and clutching each other as Annette Autiello spoke.
The verdict lacked one element sought by the Autiellos. After years of living without knowing who killed Beverly Autiello, they wanted to hear more than the prosecutors or the jury tell them Colby was guilty. They wanted to hear him admit it.
But in the minutes before the jury returned its verdict, Colby turned down the chance to plead guilty to second-degree murder - a move that would have fulfilled the Autiellos' request.
That chance came when, after deliberating for nearly three hours, the jury asked Judge John T. Ronan for the definition of first-degree murder.
The question gave rise to speculation that the jury already had found Colby guilty and simply needed to decide the degree. First-degree murder means there was deliberate premeditation and/or extreme atrocity or cruelty. It also carries a mandatory life sentence without parole. Massachusetts does not have the death penalty.
Colby stared straight ahead and showed no signs of emotion as the verdict was read.
Defense attorney Hugh Samson said after the trial that Colby "has a truly wonderful wife and a truly devoted sister."
Samson expressed admiration for both families. "I think it's a tragedy. My client's family has been destroyed," just as the victim's family was devastated in 1977, he said.
The Colbys had no comment.
The jury deliberated for a total of four hours after hearing testimony for five days.
Autiello was killed April 9, 1977, at her home in Haverhill. Colby, who moved from Haverhill shortly afterward, became the prime suspect after the case was reopened in February 1987. He was charged in August 1989.
Colby had a reputation among his neighbors in Roanoke as a family man and churchgoer. They were shocked at his arrest.
Colby confessed to two Virginia State Police officers that he beat Autiello after going to her house that night in search of her baby sitter.
Key parts of that confession, however, were inconsistent with what authorities said happened, giving rise to Samson's contention that the confession was coerced.
Boosting the defense's case was the fact that no physical evidence at the scene tied Colby to the crime, and that there was no apparent motive.
Colby told Virginia police that he had "taken a shine" to Autiello's baby sitter, Marjorie Brown Freer, and had gone to the house looking for her. He went into the house and was startled to find Autiello.
"Something just snapped and I lost control," Colby told police. "It was as if I recognized that things were not happening properly and I could not stop them."
Authorities have said Autiello's fatal wounds were caused by an object such as a pipe or baseball bat. In his confession, however, Colby said he used his fists and made no reference to a weapon.
That and other inconsistencies, however, failed to sway the jury away from Colby's simple admission that he killed Autiello - a point driven home by Assistant District Attorney Kevin Mitchell during his closing arguments.
While pleased with the outcome, Mitchell said he knew there were holes in his case.
"The motive is at best minimal. It's nice to have a full confession, but when the confession is filled with mistakes, you sold 12 strong people," Mitchell said, referring to the jury.
by CNB