Jury begins deliberations in Lynn murder, arson trial

LAWRENCE – A jury of seven men and seven women Friday began deliberations in the murder and arson case of Lynn grandmother Kathleen Hilton, accused of torching a triple-decker in 1999 that killed five occupants.Closing arguments by Essex Assistant District Attorney Marcia Slingerland and defense lawyer Michael Natola were delivered in Lawrence Superior Court before Judge Howard Whitehead.Hilton, 62, allegedly set fire to the apartment house at 44-46 High Rock St. in Lynn on Feb. 24, 1999, which was home to Krystina Sutherland, her son’s estranged girlfriend.Sutherland and Hilton’s son, Charles Loayza, had two children who lived with their mother. A court restraining order prevented Loayza from visiting them at the time.According to the prosecutor’s office, Hilton believed if Sutherland was left homeless by fire, she would return to Loayza with the children and all would be well. Hilton lived nearby, at 112 Hollingsworth St. Instead, the five tenants on the third floor died of smoke inhalation. The victims were Heriberto Feliciano, 34, and his wife, Sonia Hernandez, 32; their daughters, Sonia, 12, and Maria, 13, and their niece, Glorimar Santiago. Several former tenants testified during the first week of trial, describing how they escaped the fast-moving flames and heard the cries of those who could not get out. The jury visited the scene at the start of the trial, viewing it after dark because the fire occurred at night, which might have impacted visibility and, hence, key eyewitness testimony.Hilton has been behind bars since her arrest shortly after the tragic fire. During the trial, she testified to hearing voices. To refute such claims, the state introduced testimony from forensic psychologist Tali Walters, who was appointed by the court to determine if Hilton was competent to stand trial.Less than a month after the fire, Walters interviewed Hilton on three occasions at Taunton State Hospital. At trial, Walters recalled Hilton talking extensively about witchcraft and her spiritual beliefs in Wicca. Hilton also mentioned during those interviews that she had communicated with a tribal council of dead Native Americans, Walters said.Despite these assertions, Walters concluded that Hilton was not suffering pyschosis or a mental illness.”Typically, if someone is hearing voices, you can tell they’re hearing voices. They look distracted, they mumble. We saw none of that,” Walters testified. “There was no external suggestion that there was a psychotic process going on.”Walters said Hilton’s spiritual beliefs were likely created to help her manage stress and loneliness. However, while such beliefs may seem eccentric, they are not reason enough to keep Hilton from standing trial, she said, adding that the woman exhibited a variety of personality disorders, was anti-social and borderline schizotypal.Slingerland, the prosecutor, also played a three-hour tape of Dr. Melissa Frumin’s interview with Hilton during summer 1999, in which the defendant appears assertive and clear-minded. On the tape, Hilton described several acts of violence, including stabbing one of her five former husbands in the head with a fork, attacking another with a hammer, and annoying a third by letting the water out of his waterbed. Hilton also described feeding her father rat poison as a teenager in retaliation for his alleged abuse of her mother.On Wednesday, a member of the 15-person jury was dismissed for falling asleep during a witnesses’ testimony.Twelve members of the jury will deliberate. Two alternates will be held in reserve should the need arise.