Four Life Terms, Two of them Back to Back, in Massacre of Four

BOSTON, Dec. 18, 2012—The Mattapan man convicted in the brutal murders of Eyanna Flonory, her 2-year-old son Amanihotep Smith, Simba Martin, and Lavaughan Washum-Garrison was sentenced today to four life terms, with orders that he serve two of them back to back, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

DWAYNE MOORE (D.O.B. 6/25/77) was convicted yesterday of four counts of first-degree murder and being part of the armed robbery and home invasion that precipitated them. At a sentencing hearing today, Assistant District Attorney Edmond Zabin recommended four consecutive life terms plus additional prison time for the underlying armed robbery.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Locke ordered Moore to serve two concurrent life sentences for the murders of Flonory and Smith, to be followed by two concurrent sentences for the murders of Martin and Washum-Garrison. Because Moore was convicted under the theory of felony murder, Locke ordered the underlying felonies – armed robbery and home invasion – dismissed as duplicative.

“Every life has value,” Conley said. “Every life has meaning. We recommended four consecutive life sentences to reflect the fact that four lives were taken away forever. And we must not forget the other victims of this horrendous crime – the friends, the families, the countless residents of Mattapan who this defendant terrorized with a mass murder in the heart of their community. I hope today’s sentencing is a step toward healing for the families torn apart, and I hope it brings a sense of relief for the people of Mattapan and the City of Boston as a whole. Dwayne Moore will never again be free to cause this kind of terror.”

In emotional impact statements prior to sentencing, relatives of each murder victim spoke of the loss they have suffered since the four victims were gunned down at the intersection of Woolson and Wildwood streets after a drug-related robbery in the early morning hours of Sept. 28, 2010.

“Amani was a beautiful little boy in preschool. He was so innocent; he knew nothing but excitement and love for his mother and family. You shot and killed him too and took that all away,” said Angela Davis, Flonory’s aunt and Smith’s great-aunt. She read from a statement written by Flonory’s mother and Smith’s grandmother.

“It doesn’t matter what the case was about,” Flonory’s sister, Ebony Flonory, said. “Nobody deserved to die the way they did.”

“Although the verdict will never replace our loved ones, at least now they can rest,” said Patricia Washum, Lavaughan Washum-Garrison’s mother.

“You’ve taken away a father, a brother, a son, and an uncle,” Said Shanekwa Marsh, Simba Martin’s sister. “He was a great person.”

Many family members thanked the prosecutors investigators involved in bringing the case to trial for a second time after Moore’s first trial ended when the deliberating jury deadlocked at eleven to one for conviction. The case was tried by Assistant District Attorney Edmond Zabin of Conley’s Homicide Unit and Assistant District Attorney Teresa Anderson of the DA’s Appellate Division.

After about five weeks of testimony from almost four dozen witnesses and more than 250 physical exhibits, and after the deliberating jury began its deliberations three times because some of its members were discharged, the jury weighed the evidence for about two and a half days.

Evidence and testimony proved conclusively that Moore was part of a robbery crew that travelled to Martin’s Sutton Street home in the early morning hours of Sept. 28 then forced their way inside, stealing drugs, cash, and other items at gunpoint.

The evidence also established that KIMANI WASHINGTON (D.O.B. 10/17/75), another member of the robbery crew, left the scene with some of the robbery proceeds and did not participate in the murders that followed. Washington will serve a state prison term of 16 to 18 years for his role in the robbery.

The evidence established that Moore was among the assailants who marched the victims out of the residence and onto Woolson Street, then opened fire, killing them. Prosecution testimony from multiple witnesses was consistent in describing the gunman as a tall, thin, man with a small head and closely-cut hair – a description that fit Moore perfectly and does not fit Kimani Washington. The witness statements were corroborated by phone records placing Moore at the scene, repeatedly calling Martin to lure him out of the house, and by the testimony of a former associate of Moore who stated that Moore approached him with an offer to take part in a robbery of drugs and cash.

Kara Hayes and Michael Schultz were the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocates. Moore was represented by attorney John Amabile.

–30– 

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