“There’s one victim in this case: John Marshall,” Assistant District Attorney Edward Krippendorf said, showing a Superior Court jury an autopsy photo depicting multiple fatal stab wounds to Marshall’s chest. “He’s dead because of the selfish, destructive, vicious actions of one man – this man.”
Krippendorf pointed at DAVID COPELAND (D.O.B. 2/2/79), the Roxbury resident charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery for Marshall’s homicide in a parking lot near Dale and Regent streets in Roxbury on July 29, 2008. Copeland allegedly stabbed the 33-year-old Marshall in the chest and then took drugs and cash from him before fleeing the scene.
Delivering closing arguments after five full days of testimony, Krippendorf summarized evidence and testimony suggesting that Copeland and some friends spent the early part of the day drinking alcohol and using crack cocaine in a Regent Street apartment. At some point, Krippendorf said, the drugs – and the money to buy more drugs – ran out.
“They had no more money and it was over,” Krippendorf said. “He had no more money, but he had a plan. The plan was to arm himself with a knife and get what he wanted.”
Copeland allegedly contacted Marshall to arrange a crack cocaine buy. Before leaving the apartment, prosecutors say, he went to the kitchen to get a steak knife and placed it in his pocket.
Copeland arrived at the parking lot on foot; Marshall drove his car. Shortly after Marshall arrived, Krippendorf alleged, Copeland set upon him and stabbed him at least twice in the chest.
“You have the photographs of the results of what this man did on July 29,” Krippendorf said. “Photographs of the stab wounds show that they were deliberate, distinct, and purposeful – to one area of his body and one area only.”
“When the defendant thrust this knife into John Marshall, it was deliberate,” Krippendorf said, holding aloft the alleged murder weapon in a plastic evidence bag. “He had to get through bone and cartilage, eight inches deep, compressing the chest with enough force to get it all the way into his heart.”
Krippendorf told jurors that the victim’s palms were slashed – indicative, he said, of a futile defense by Marshall to protect himself.
After stabbing the man, Copeland allegedly robbed him of cash, marijuana and crack cocaine before fleeing the scene.
Krippendorf recounted the testimony of trial witnesses who testified that Copeland returned to the apartment with cash and drugs and said, “I took care of some business” and “I got someone.”
Krippendorf also said that, after making those statements, Copeland took off his shirt and wrapped the bloodied knife inside it. He then removed his bloody clothing, including his pants and shoes, rolled them into a ball and placed the items into a bag before taking a shower.
After discovering Marshall’s body and learning of his direction of flight from an officer who observed him in the crime’s aftermath, Boston Police officers arrived at the Regent Street home. A search warrant executed on the apartment led to the recovery of Copeland’s bloody clothing and the steak knife.
Krippendorf dismissed the defendant’s assertion that the attack on Marshall was self-defense. “You can’t pull out a knife on an unarmed man and when he tries to defend himself say self-defense,” he told the jury.
“Despite this defendant’s absurd excuses, you now know the facts,” Krippendorf said. “You know the truth. The time for excuses is now over. Hold the defendant accountable for what he did on July 29, 2008.”
Copeland is represented by attorney Michael Laurano in courtroom 906 of Suffolk Superior Court. Following closing arguments, Superior Court Judge Frank Gaziano instructed jurors on the relevant law before releasing them to begin their deliberations.
