BOSTON, Sept. 4, 2018—A Suffolk Superior Court jury today convicted a Malden man of stabbing 29-year-old Sean Dwyer to death outside his Adams Street barbershop and taking steps to influence witnesses who had testified in the Suffolk County Grand Jury, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

Jurors deliberated for about two and a half days before convicting DOMINIC SHINER, 36, of voluntary manslaughter for the Dec. 12, 2014, encounter that claimed Dwyer’s life and witness intimidation for sending grand jury transcripts from the Nashua Street Jail to a friend with a note that “you know what to do.” Shiner faces sentencing tomorrow morning.

“Mr. Dwyer’s loved ones have waited years for this day to come,” Conley said. “I hope they take some satisfaction in the jury’s verdict and know that prosecutors and police detectives never rested in their efforts on Sean’s behalf. Any mother, father, son, or daughter who loses a loved one to homicide can count on that dedication and support.”

During about seven days of trial, Assistant District Attorneys Julie Higgins and Colby Tilley introduced evidence and testimony proving that Shiner and Dwyer knew one another, and that Shiner had visited Dwyer’s Adams Street barbershop asking for money on Dec. 10, two days before the stabbing.
Witness statements, video footage, telephone records, social media postings, and other evidence proved that Shiner returned to the shop on the evening of Dec. 12 and stabbed Dwyer once in the chest, causing fatal injuries.

Boston Police responded to the area at about 6:20 that evening to find him dead at the scene. After an exhaustive investigation by Boston Police homicide detectives on the street and Suffolk prosecutors in the grand jury, Shiner was indicted for first-degree murder and taken into custody on Sept. 13, 2015.
While held without bail at the Nashua Street Jail, Shiner attempted to mail a friend the grand jury transcripts he had received as discovery. The witnesses’ names had been redacted, but Shiner wrote them in and told his friend “you know what to do.” Employees at the jail intercepted the package and notified Suffolk prosecutors, leading to his Nov. 8, 2016, indictment on witness intimidation charges.

Jennifer Sears was the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. Shiner was represented by attorney Michael Doolin. Judge Douglas Wilkins scheduled sentencing for 9:30 tomorrow morning.

–30–

All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.