• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Log In
Itemlive

Itemlive

North Shore news powered by The Daily Item

  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Police/Fire
  • Government
  • Obituaries
  • Archives
  • E-Edition
  • Help
This article was published 17 year(s) ago

Jury has case of accused shooter

Robin Kaminski

June 28, 2008 by Robin Kaminski

LYNN – The fate of Phap Buth, the third accused man of fatally shooting a Lynn man and his 16-year-old daughter, now lies in the hands of a jury.The first day of deliberations came to a close around 1 p.m. Friday without a verdict, and is expected to resume Monday after the 14-person jury, including two alternates, broke for the weekend.Buth, 33, who last lived at 68 Thornton St., Revere, went on trial June 18 in Lawrence Superior Court on charges of two counts of murder in the first degree and a single count of armed home invasion in connection with the shooting deaths of Robert A. Finnerty Sr., 47, and his 16-year-old daughter, Amy A. Dumas on the night of May 16, 2005 at their 58 Cottage St. home.On the night of the incident, Judith Finnerty, the wife and mother of the victims, heard a knock at the rear door of their Cottage Street apartment.When she answered the door, an Asian male asked her if she had drugs, which she then told him no and shut the door.Moments later, there was a second knock at the door, and the same person proceeded to push her out of the way and entered the apartment along with two others, Pytou Heang and Chon Son, who were armed with guns and dressed in black.Finnerty said she quickly escaped and ran outside the apartment in fear, only to hear gunshots coming from inside her house seconds later.When she returned, she found her husband and daughter lying in a pool of blood on the living room floor.Robert Finnerty, a former electrician who was disabled and using a walker at the time, was shot in the chest from a 9mm Tech 9 semi-automatic handgun. He was pronounced dead at Union Hospital that evening.Dumas, who rushed to her father’s aid, was shot in the back. She was pronounced dead the next day at Massachusetts General Hospital.The commonwealth will argue that Buth was the set-up guy and that he was the man who knocked at the door asking for drugs, who Judith Finnerty later identified.Buth has since denied the charges lodged against him.Defense attorney Russell Sobelman is expected to contest that his client, Buth, participated in the killings and armed home invasion, but will likely not argue he knocked at the door, hoping for a not guilty or lesser conviction on the charges.Judge Richard E. Welch III is presiding over the expected two-week trial. The prosecutor in the case is Carol Anne Hillis.Heang, 29, who last lived at 158 Lawton St., in Lynn, was convicted of two counts of first degree murder and sentenced by Welch to serve consecutive life sentences and will be behind bars for the rest of his life.Hillis presented evidence at Heang’s trial that he was the shooter and Son, also armed with a gun, threatened and assaulted the victims during the incident as a joint participator.Son, 22, who last lived at 591 Lincoln Ave., in Saugus, pleaded guilty to two counts of second degree murder, instead of first degree murder, armed home invasion and carrying a firearm without a license.Son was sentenced to the mandatory punishment of life in prison on the two murder counts, but will be eligible for parole in 15 years.On the armed home invasion, he was sentenced to serve 27 to 35 years in prison, which will run simultaneously with the term of incarceration on the second-degree murder charges.However, Son will have to serve at least 27 years behind bars before he sees the parole board, but that does not mean he will be released.He could be denied parole and stay in prison for up to 35 years.

  • Robin Kaminski
    Robin Kaminski

    View all posts

Related posts:

No related posts.

Primary Sidebar

Advertisement

Sponsored Content

How Studying Psychology Can Equip You To Better Help Your Community

Solo Travel Safety Hacks: How to Use eSIM and Tech to Stay Connected and Secure in Australia

Advertisement

Upcoming Events

1st Annual Lynn Food Truck & Craft Beverage Festival presented by Greater Lynn Chamber of Commerce

September 27, 2025
Blossom Street, Lynn,01905, US 89 Blossom St, Lynn, MA 01902-4592, United States

2025 GLCC Annual Golf Tournament

August 25, 2025
Gannon Golf Club

A Pirate Adventure!! with the Children’s Department

July 28, 2025
5 N Common St, Lynn, MA, United States, Massachusetts 01902

Adult Book Club: Little Fires Everywhere

July 29, 2025
Lynn Public Library

Footer

About Us

  • About Us
  • Editorial Practices
  • Advertising and Sponsored Content

Reader Services

  • Subscribe
  • Manage Your Subscription
  • Activate Subscriber Account
  • Submit an Obituary
  • Submit a Classified Ad
  • Daily Item Photo Store
  • Submit A Tip
  • Contact
  • Terms and Conditions

Essex Media Group Publications

  • La Voz
  • Lynnfield Weekly News
  • Marblehead Weekly News
  • Peabody Weekly News
  • 01907 The Magazine
  • 01940 The Magazine
  • 01945 The Magazine
  • North Shore Golf Magazine

© 2025 Essex Media Group