Newton Murder-For-Hire Case To Wrap After Closing Arguments

WALTHAM, MA — The two-week long retrial of a Waltham man whose conviction was overturned in the 2006 murder-for-hire slaying of his wife's boyfriend in a garage parking lot near Rt. 9 in Chestnut Hill wrapped up Friday with closing arguments.

Massachusetts' highest court granted a new trial for James Brescia, 59, of Waltham who was first sentenced to life in prison when he was convicted of hiring a hit man to kill his wife's lover, Edward Schiller,39, of Framingham, after Brescia suffered a stroke while testifying.

"We're convinced when you go and discuss the case and go over all the evidence you will find the defendant not guilty of first degree murder," Brescia's attorney Allen Black told the jury Sept. 28.

Schiller was shot in his head on the morning of Jan. 13, 2006 as he sat in his car in a Newton parking garage near his job. Brescia found out that his estranged wife had rekindled a romance with Schiller, her high school sweetheart and became upset, Patch previously reported. Brescia is accused of paying Scott Foxworth $10,000 to kill the man. Foxworth is serving life in prison after being convicted of first-degree murder for the shooting. Investigators used phone records between Brescia and Foxworth, as well as witness testimony to link Brescia to the crime.

"James Brescia had a man he knew to be a convicted murderer, a man he knew to have just gotten out of prison to do his taking with the business end of a 9 mm hand gun," District Attorney Lynch said in her closing remarks. "Scott Foxworth pulled the trigger, but James Brescia paid him to do it."

The jury, which was sequestered during the case and consists of seven men and nine women is set to deliberate later today.

Following the closing remarks family members of Schiller hugged their attorney, thanked her and wiped away tears.

Dateline NBC in November of 2009 featured the case, calling it The Friday the 13th Mystery, asking, "Who would have wanted to kill Ed Schiller?" The episode is available here.

ABC's 20/20 also spotlighted the murder, which it said "captivated the city of Newton," and focused on Brescia's wife who had rekindled a relationship with her high school sweetheart, Schiller.

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• Man Convicted of Hiring Hitman to Kill Wife's Boyfriend
• James E. Brescia was found guilty of..

Photo by Jenna Fisher/Patch Staff