Supreme Judicial Court Upholds Needham Murder Conviction

NEEDHAM, MA — A man charged with the murder of a Needham resident had his conviction upheld by the state's highest court Thursday.

The state's Supreme Judicial Court ruled in a unanimous decision that William Dunn understood his actions when he killed Needham resident Robert Moore in 2007. The decision upholds Dunn's murder conviction.

On Nov. 2, 2007, Dunn hit Robert Moore with a baseball bat multiple times and attacked Moore's daughter-in-law Nancy Moore. Robert Moore was killed in the attack while Nancy Moore barely survived, according to court documents. Dunn was at the house to install an irrigation system.

Witnesses and co-workers at the scene said everything seemed fine until they had to install the systems control clock and timer inside the home's basement. Dunn told his co-worker that he wanted to install it and was let in by Robert Moore. A co-worker noticed that the installation was taking longer than the 15 minutes usually needed. When he went to knock on the bulkhead door, there was no response.

Nancy, who arrived at the house at about 12:30 p.m., went into the basement and saw Dunn, who asked to use the bathroom before grabbing Nancy Moore and punching her.

The incident triggered a search by State Police. Dunn was found lying in a depression in a marshy area of Route 128 and had pulled vegetation over himself. In an interview with police, Dunn said he blacked out and could not recall the incident.

The court noted compelling evidence that Dunn attempted to clean the basement after Robert Moore's death, including a sweatshirt and paper towels with red-brown stains.

During a trial in Norfolk Superior Court, Dr. Keith Ablow said that Dunn suffered from "major depression and with psychotic disorder not otherwise specified" on the day of the crime. He said that Dunn was unable to tell right from wrong on that day.

Testimony from Dr. Alison Fife said Dunn had the capacity to understand his actions on the day of the murder. The court noted that Dunn was happy and not paranoid the previous weekend when he took his wife to Providence and was in a good mood at work the day before.

The denied appeal means that Dunn will continue to serve a life sentence for first degree murder with no chance of parole.

See the full ruling below:

Needham Ruling by DanLibon on Scribd

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