SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT DIRK GKEINEDER - Mass Cases

gets to that point [i.e., to commit murder1 in
their own life. I can't. I can't tell you how
a person gets to the point where he's doing
many things that this Defendant was doing.
E. 25/95.''
To make matters worse, the prosecutor referred to
several "facts" which were unsupported by the evidence.
Re told the jury that Greineder had described his wife as
"old and soft," and that Greineder had been seeking out
a woman named "Elizabeth" with whom he had "a long term
standing relationship." B. 25/61. Neither of these
"facts1' was in evidence ." The unfair prejudice resulting
from these fabrications was substantial.
3. Conclusion.
Evidence regarding Greineder's extramarital sexual
activities had no proper place at trial. The Commonwealth
broke its promise to use such evidence solely to
establish Greineder's motive to murder his wife.
Nevertheless, the evidence came in, through witness after
witness, until the Commonwealth had achieved its real
objective of destroying the defendant's character. The
erroneous admission and misuse of this toxic bad acts
evidence contributed significantly to the jury's verdict
li The phrase "many things that this Defendant was doing"
cannot have referred to anything but the extramarital sexual
activities highlighted so many times during trial.
12
On cross-examination, Greineder speciPically denied
that he had made either statement. Tr. 20/169-170. There was no
evidence to the contrary presented at trial.
25