Lynn man to be retried for murder

SALEM – The retrial of Arcangel “Angel” Morales, whose second-degree murder conviction was overturned by the appeals court last fall, is expected to begin in August in Superior Court.Morales, 48, went on trial in March 2004, for the premeditated stabbing death of Michael Carey.Jurors deliberated over a two-day span finding Morales guilty of a lesser offense, second degree murder, and innocent on a second charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon involving an incident earlier with a female involving a beer bottle.The judge sentenced Morales immediately to the mandatory punishment of life in prison, but Morales would be eligible for parole after serving 15 years behind bars.The case was appealed and overturned by the higher court last October on the basis that the presiding trial judge, Thomas P. Billings, erred in his instructions to the jury and ordered that the case be retried.In Salem Superior Court this week, Assistant District Attorney James P. Gubitose and defense lawyer Jeffrey T. Karp said they were reading for trial and asked Judge David A. Lowy for a trial date of Aug. 11.In the meantime, Morales remains held at the Middleton Jail.Carey, 43, a painter by trade who lived in Lynn, was stabbed to death on Sept. 26, 2002 following an altercation behind a building next to State Street Liquors in Lynn.He was stabbed three times in the abdomen during the alleged confrontation with Morales.According to evidence, it was about 6 p.m., when four people, including Carey, bought alcohol at the liquor store and went behind the strip mall to drink. Morales was already behind the strip mall when the others arrived.A female amongst the group apparently recognized Morales as the person who had struck her on the chin with a beer bottle a few days before and told Carey, who immediately confronted Morales about it.Morales reportedly pulled out a knife from one of his shirtsleeves, slashed Carey on the wrist, then stabbed him three times.Carey, known on the street as “Beetlejuice,” was pronounced dead at Salem Hospital shortly after 7 p.m.Morales fled Lynn after the incident and traveled to Reading, Pa., where some of his family members lived at the time. He was arrested three days later at the Reading Berks Emergency Shelter in Reading, Pa.He waived extradition and was brought back to the state to face charges.