Conviction Reduced For Car Thief Who Killed Owner In Danvers

DANVERS, MA — A man who was once told by a Salem Superior Court "You will never be out of prison" during sentencing for the 2006 death of a Boxford man had his conviction reduced to second degree murder by an appeals court judge Friday. Roy Dowds Jr., now 45, had asked for a new trial because his first lawyer did not present evidence of long-standing brain injuries that affect his cognition and behavior at his first trial.

In a ruling released Friday, Supreme Judicial Court Justice Frank M. Gaziano said a lower court judge did not err in denying Dowds' motion for a new trial but still ordered the sentence be reduced from first degree murder. "In the circumstances of the case, however, we conclude that...the interests of justice require that the degree of guilt be reduced to murder in the second degree," Gaziano wrote.

Dowds was trying to steal a Ford Explorer on May 4, 2006 outside of Giblees on Route 114 in Danvers. The SUV belonged to Keith Koster, 20, of Boxford, who worked in the store. Koster tried to stop Dowds, who drove off with Koster clinging to the car. There were several witnesses who saw Dowds try to swerve to throw Koster from the car. Dowds crashed into a utility pole and Koster was thrown from the side of the car.

Dowds, who had just been released from prison for a Salem car theft, staggered away from the crash but was found and arrested within 20 minutes. He waived his Miranda rights and confessed to Danvers police.

"The defendant's traumatic brain injuries prevented him from restraining his impulses such that, at the time of the offense, his conduct was driven by his incapacity for self-monitoring or self-control," Gaziano wrote. "These uncommon facts were not presented to the jury. In such unique circumstances, a verdict of murder in the second degree is more consonant with justice than is a verdict of murder in the first degree."

The sentence for second degree murder is life in prison, but defendants can typically apply for parole after serving 15 years in prison. In first degree murder convictions, there is a mandatory life sentence with no chance of parole.