Appeals court upholds conviction for Lynn man’s killer

BOSTON – A state appeals court has upheld the murder conviction of a Chelsea man who in 2002 stabbed a Lynn father of three to death at a Chelsea produce market.The Massachusetts Appeals Court this week affirmed the second-degree murder conviction of Victor Moran, 27, indicted for first-degree murder stemming from the knifing of his co-worker, Juan Diego Marchante, 40, at the Garden Fresh Salad Company during an argument on Oct. 7, 2002.”We investigate, prepare and try these cases not merely for convictions,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley. “We do it to ensure that the convictions are just and stand up on appeal. We could not bring Juan Marchante back to his family, but we could ensure that his killer’s sentence stands.”According to Conley spokesman Jake Wark, trial evidence showed that the two had argued earlier in the day and that, near the end of their shifts, they fought again on the loading dock. Evidence indicated Moran broke away from Marchante, retrieved a kitchen knife and stabbed the older man in the chest before tossing the weapon in a Dumpster and fleeing the scene.Marchante died of a stab wound to his lung and pulmonary artery. Chelsea Police responded almost immediately and learned of Moran’s identity from witnesses at the scene. Chelsea police, joined by State Police homicide detectives assigned to Conley’s office, caught Moran two days later.Well after being read his Miranda rights, Moran made statements in Spanish to his sister that were overheard by a bilingual Chelsea Police detective as the investigator entered and exited the interview room, said Wark, noting that Moran then made additional statements to State Police detectives in the presence of the same bilingual detective.On appeal, Moran claimed that neither statement was voluntary under Massachusetts law. The Appeals Court found otherwise.”There is an absence of evidence to support the defendant’s suggestion that the police intentionally placed (his sister) in the room to deliberately monitor the defendant’s statements to her or to break down his capacity to resist their questions,” Justice Charlotte Perretta wrote in a 10-page decision.The court also noted that the trial judge repeatedly instructed jurors that closing arguments were not evidence and that jurors’ memories – not attorneys’ representations – should control their verdicts.Assistant District Attorney Paul Treseler prosecuted the case at trial. Assistant District Attorney Macy Lee argued the case on appeal. Moran was represented by attorney Richard Shea.