Grassie murder trial coming to a close
After a day full of witness testimony, closing arguments and jury deliberation, the case of a Wareham man who was charged with murder two years ago is coming to an end.
Bryan Grassie, of 16 Bartlett Lane in East Wareham, exercised his right not to testify in Plymouth Superior Court Friday where he stood accused of first degree murder, along with two counts of assault with attempt to murder and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
Grassie was arrested in the early morning hours of July 29, 2012 after a being involved with a stabbing on Priscilla Avenue which sent brothers Brian and Brendan Maroney of Bridgewater to the hospital. Brendan later died from his wounds and Brian took the witness stand on Friday.
Mahoney, 21, showed the jury some of his stab wounds, of which he has six, the same amount his brother had. He said he heard his brother Brendan scream "he's got a knife," and heard him say he had been stabbed that night on Priscilla Avenue. But Brian said he didn't realize he had been stabbed until the two brothers and the other partygoers he was with got under the light of a nearby street lamp. Mahoney said he remembers the whole incident lasting a few seconds.
Prosecutor for the Commonwealth, Assistant District Attorney Tara Cappola played a security video from a home on Priscilla Avenue showing Grassie going down the street saying "Come on dog follow me," then the two Mahoney brothers and others running from the scene after a physical altercation occurred off screen.
Some friends and family members in the courtroom turned away while the video was played.
According to witness testimony, Grassie, 18 at the time of the incident, showed up uninvited to a graduation party on Priscilla Avenue. Grassie exhibited belligerent behavior towards the guests as soon as he arrived, according to witness testimony.
Testimony indicated that Grassie was drunk and slurring his words. Witnesses also said many guests at the party, where a keg was present, were drinking. Mahoney said both he and his brother had been drinking that night.
Witnesses said Grassie and the Mahoneys had multiple verbal exchanges and at one point during the party Brian Mahoney grabbed Grassie's face and pushed him.
The parent of a witness to the party told Wareham Week that throughout the night, the owner of the property came in and out of the home to check on the party. The parent believed the owner was sleeping at the time of the stabbing.
After heated conversations with many guests at the party, in which Grassie allegedly said things such as, "I'll fight anybody," and "I'm not leaving until they come outside and fight me," Grassie was coerced outside by a friend. After some time outside, the two Mahoney brothers came outside and everyone involved moved down the street.
According to Mahoney and other witnesses, Brian Mahoney pushed Grassie against a chain link fence and Brendan Mahoney tackled Grassie and began fighting him as they didn't think any weapons were involved.
Grassie's attorney, Thomas Drechsler, asked Mahoney, "You were going to continue to beat him up because of what he said, isn't that right?" and Mahoney responded, "Yeah, I guess so."
In his closing argument, Drechsler said, "but for the Mahoney brothers running after [Grassie] and chasing him down, this stabbing doesn't happen."
Cappola argued that Grassie had purposefully created the environment of a fight throughout that night.
"This is not self-defense, this is not manslaughter. This is first degree murder," she said.
The jury did not reach a verdict after deliberating for about two hours. They will reconvene in Plymouth Superior Court Monday morning.