A second defendant was charged with Murder in connection to the October stabbing death of Cherby Lajoie in Dorchester, Massachusetts.
The female defendant, Tarayiah Hunt, 21, of Dorchester, was formally arraigned in the Dorchester Division of the Boston Municipal Court recently and charged with murder.
The victim in this case, Cherby Lajoie, was found on on Charles Street on October 6th just after 1:00 a.m. suffering from 37 stab wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, this defendant was allegedly identified in connection with this murder through DNA evidence at the crime scene and nearby surveillance video. Prosecutors also represented that police were provided with an anonymous tip identifying this defendant by her nickname, “Tip”.
The other person first charged with murder on this case is a 15 year old juvenile, and he is the person prosecutors allege actually stabbed the victim.
In cases where the crime is committed by one actor, others may also be charged with the crime under the principle of aiding and abetting or joint venture. Under this theory of criminal law, a person may be guilty of a crime even if he did not personally commit the crime, but somehow aided and abetted in its commission.
In a joint venture, a person is guilty of the crime as a joint venturer if he intentionally participates with another in the commission of a crime as something he wishes to bring about and seeks by his actions to make it succeed.
In order to prove a defendant guilty of a crime as an aider and abetter, the government must prove that the defendant (1) was present at the scene of a crime; (2) had knowledge that another person intended to commit the crime and shared that person’s intent; and (3) aided or assisted the commission of that crime; or by agreement, was willing and available to assist the other person in carrying out that crime if necessary.
In some circumstances, the government would not have to prove that the defendant was even present at the scene of the crime. In this scenario, the government would have to prove that the defendant actually aided in the commission of the crime or was an accessory before the fact of the crime by counseling, hiring or otherwise procuring the crime to be committed.
Boston Criminal Lawyer Lefteris K. Travayiakis is available 24/7 for consultation on all Massachusetts Murder Charges.
To schedule a Free Consultation, Click Here Contact a Massachusetts Murder Lawyer or call 617-325-9500.