GREENFIELD — With all the evidence on the table, and having heard closing arguments, the jury began deliberations Thursday in the murder case of Joshua Hart.
Hart, 25, of Athol, is accused of murdering Thomas Harty, 95, and fatally wounding his wife, Joanna Fisher, 77, during an Oct. 5, 2016, invasion of their 581 Main St. home.
Hart, as well as his co-defendant, Brittany Smith, 29, of Athol, have pleaded not guilty. Smith is to be tried separately, beginning April 23.
The jury deliberated the Superior Court case for approximately three hours Thursday, and will reconvene at the Franklin County Justice Center, Greenfield Friday at 9 a.m.
Judge John Agostini designated two of the 14 jurors as “alternating jurors,” who will not take part in deliberations unless necessary. The deliberating jury now consists of seven women and five men.
“You have an awesome responsibility,” Agostini told the jury. “We are one of the very few countries that allows its citizens to make such important decisions as you will be making in this case.”
The jury must be unanimous in finding Hart guilty or not guilty to any of his charges, which include charges for armed robbery, motor vehicle theft and fraudulent use of credit cards, in addition to the murder charge.
If found guilty of murder in the first degree, which the prosecution has asked for, Hart faces a mandatory life sentence in state prison without the possibility of parole.
In his closing argument, prosecutor Jeremy Bucci, chief trial counsel for the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, outlined the aggravating circumstances he alleges make Hart guilty of murder in the first degree.
“He came in armed,” said Bucci, arguing Hart premeditated the murders.
Along with premeditation, Bucci said the murders were “extremely cruel and atrocious” and occurred during the execution of another felony, armed robbery, warranting a murder in the first degree conviction.
Hart allegedly stabbed Harty multiple times, including three times in the heart. He also allegedly held a pillow over the man’s face until he stopped moving, then stabbed Fisher, who was already being attacked by Smith, the prosecution alleges. Fisher died a month later, on Nov. 10, from pneumonia likely triggered by torso wounds sustained in the attack. She was allegedly thrown from her wheelchair, which she used in her recovery from a spinal stroke, to the floor before Hart stabbed her and stood on her chest
“This was, at its core, a joint venture,” said Bucci, alleging that Smith and Hart are guilty, together, of each of the crimes committed. “At all times, they acted in concert.”
Hart and Smith had been arrested two days before the home invasion for car theft. The prosecution alleges Hart, who had warrants for his arrest out of Pennsylvania, and Smith, a heroin addict on the verge of being court-ordered into rehab, wanted to run away together with the victims’ car and credit cards to escape the consequences of their prior arrest. They were apprehended in Rockbridge County, Va., having been tracked by Massachusetts State Police.
“Thomas Harty gave the defendant a fight,” Bucci said. “(The fight) produced evidence, proving his guilt.”
Hart, in an audio-recorded interview with police, confessed to the murder and said his rosary beads were ripped from his neck during the fight. Those beads were found and photographed at the crime scene next to Harty’s body — in the same location Hart indicated during his taped confession.
The sweatshirt Hart wore during the alleged attack was also found to have Harty’s blood on it, Bucci reiterated in his closing argument. A bloody footprint of the same type of shoe Hart was wearing during the alleged attack was also found at the crime scene.
“This is a mountain of evidence as immovable as the mountains that Thomas Harty climbed,” Bucci said — Harty had been planning a hiking trip at the Grand Canyon, his eighth, with a friend.
In closing, Bucci cited the Latin phrase that means “to speak the truth,” the root of the word “verdict.”
“Veritas dictum,” Bucci said to the jury. “When you return here, speak the truth.”
Defense attorney Brian E. Murphy, during his closing argument, explained why he had few or no questions for many of the witnesses.
“What he did was criminal, what he did was horrible and what he did was callous, but what he did was not murder,” Murphy said. “We (the prosecution and defense) agree on the vast majority of what happened here.”
Murphy told the jury he disputes nothing that happened leading up to the home invasion and nothing that occurred after the home invasion. He brought into question what happened during the home invasion.
Murphy asserted that Smith, “a crazed drug addict,” committed the murders, that Hart, madly in love with Smith, helped her “clean up” and run away and that Hart’s confessions to police were false and given to protect Smith.
A major point Murphy highlighted was the lack of any found murder weapon, or DNA evidence or fingerprint evidence against Hart, while stating there is such evidence against Smith. He also pointed to Fisher’s statements after the attack, during which she identified her attacker as female.
“One person who can surely be believed without question is Ms. Fisher,” said Murphy, noting that Fisher also could not identify Hart in a photo lineup.
The jury — if it finds Hart is indeed guilty of murder, but does not accept the aggravating circumstances laid forth by Bucci — may find Hart guilty of murder in the second degree, which would make him eligible for parole after a period of time the court decides.
Reach David McLellan at dmclellan@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 268.