A verdict has been reached in the second murder trial of Emmanuel Lopes, the man accused of shooting and killing Weymouth Police Sergeant Michael Chesna and town resident Vera Adams in July 2018.
The return of a verdict comes after the jury spent a week deliberating Lopes’ fate. This was his second trial. The first ended in a hung jury when one juror refused to deliberate.
The verdict is expected to be announced in Norfolk Superior Court on Friday afternoon.
The defense for Lopes, who prosecutors allege is a cold-blooded murderer, had been mounting an insanity defense in an effort to get acquitted in the deaths of Chesna and Adams.
Lopes incapacitated Sgt. Chesna with a rock and then shot and killed the police officer with his own weapon at point-blank range, according to prosecutors. Adams was found dead in her sunroom.
Shortly after the jury resumed its deliberation in this second trial, it emerged with a question focused on Lopes’ mental health, asking how they should weigh it while deliberating.