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| Lexington man facing 3rd trial in 1994 murder pleads guilty |
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Craig Conkey, 42, of Lexington, pleaded guilty late on Thursday, Aug. 27, to second-degree murder and armed burglary the next day in Woburn Superior Court. He is expected to be sentenced Sept. 14 at 10 a.m. by Superior Court Judge Dianne Kottmyer. “With this plea, the defendant has ultimately and definitively admitted his guilt for the brutal murder of Mary Lou Sale,†Leone said in the Aug. 28 release. “The victim’s family has been forced to live through two trials and nearly 15 years of uncertainty. Today’s conviction brings this case to a close, demonstrating beyond any doubt that Craig Conkey and no one else was responsible for Mary Lou Sale’s murder.â€On Dec. 6, 1994, the body of Ms. Sale was discovered on her bedroom floor in her home at 915 Mass. Ave. in East Lexington. An autopsy conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the death to be a homicide caused by asphyxiation by ligature as well as multiple blunt force trauma about the head. Massachusetts State Police and Lexington Police conducted an extensive investigation into the circumstances of her death. The defendant, who lived approximately four houses away from Ms. Sale, was interviewed by authorities and denied any knowledge of the victim, her home, or the circumstances of her death. He would deny any knowledge of the victim in a second interview as well. Authorities were later able to match a fingerprint and palm print found in the victim’s home with the defendant. When confronted with the fact that the police had found “something†of his inside her home, the defendant made various statements incriminating himself in the murder of Ms. Sale. The defendant was indicted on Jan. 25, 1995, on charges of murder, armed burglary, and armed assault in a dwelling. The defendant was found guilty by a Middlesex Superior Court jury on March 26, 1996, and sentenced to a term of life without parole. On Aug. 27, 1999, the verdict was reversed by the Supreme Judicial Court and a new trial was ordered. On March 26, 2001, the defendant was again found guilty by a Middlesex Superior Court Jury on his first degree murder charges and ordered to a sentence of life without eligibility of parole. On Jan. 19, 2005, a new trial was again ordered by the Supreme Judicial Court. The prosecutor assigned to the case was Assistant District Attorney Michael Fabbri and the Victim Witness Advocate was Anne Foley. |
| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 17 November 2009 17:32 ) |
A Lexington man facing a third trial has pleaded guilty to murdering Mary Lou Sale, 49, in her East Lexington home in 1994, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said in a news release.
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