MA - Remains of 3 infants found, Erika Murray charged, Blackstone, Sept 2014

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Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio says Murray lived in “severe domestic squalor” but she didn’t have an awareness of how bad it really was @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio: “Erika failed to appreciate the severity of the squalor and the health risks associated with it...also suffered from persistent depressive disorder...as well as a personality disorder” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio: “She had feelings of worthlessness, powerlessness” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

 

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Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio describes what she says is Murray’s “avoidant & dependent personality disorder“ - says it “contributed to her dependency” on Ray @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio: “when she became pregnant (with her first child as a teen)...she didn’t tell anyone about the pregnancy until it was detected by others” her mother was in charge of setting up her prenatal care. @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio says Murray’s mother was responsible for helping care for the child and their home, meals, etc. when she and Ray were living with her parents. @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

 

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Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio says Murray’s mother said if she got pregnant again they would have to move out. When she got pregnant with her 2nd child she & Ray moved to Blackstone. @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio says after the 2nd child: “that’s when you started seeing the economic control...she really stopped engaging with the world at that point” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio says when Murray got pregnant the 3rd time “she describes feeing overwhelmed not knowing was to do...using primitive coping strategies...just putting it out of her head” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

 

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Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio says Murray describes giving birth to a stillborn baby and not telling anyone: “the secret was just too big” at that point @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio says of Murray’s 4th pregnancy: “she again described giving birth in the bathroom alone (the baby was born alive but she later found the baby dead)...her response was to wrap the baby and put it in the closet” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio says of Murray’s response to the death of the baby: “she used primitive coping strategies of denial, avoidance” says she didn’t think about consequences @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

 

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Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio says of Murray’s care of the 3yo & 5 month old: “She seemed to really believe she cared for them to the best of her abilities” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio says of Murray’s treatment of the 3yo & 5 month old: “she loved them and cared for them and believed she was a good mother to them.” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio: “Erika definitely failed to appreciate the level of risk in the home (to the children) to herself...and the circumstances the (3yo & 5 month old) were being raised in” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

 

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Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio: “Erika’s behavior...throughout the police interviews was consistent...with what I saw...moment to moment thinking...lack of cohesive thought” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio: “the allowing of police to fill in the blanks...being eager to please” is consistent with what she saw of Murray @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio says Murray “had significant short term memory deficits...and (difficulty) regarding peripheral details and sequence of events” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

 

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Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio on Murray’s view of raising her 3yo & 5 month old secretly: “It wasn’t so much an effort to raise them in secret but to cope with (her situation, so as not to upset Ray or her mother)” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio: “I think Erika had a profound lack of insight and awareness into her own behavior and its impact.” Defense is done with direct questioning. Prosecutor begins cross examination. @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Prosecutor presses Dr. Rocchio on her certification as a forensic psychologist. She says there’s not a formal certification process. @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

 

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Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio admits under cross that before her interview of Murray she didn’t have have prior knowledge of “intimate partner violence” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio admits under cross examination she didn’t interview Ray Rivera, but read his interviews with police. @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio agrees with the prosecutor that Murray doesn’t meet the full diagnosis for either avoidant or dependent personality disorder. She says it was mixed between the two. @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

 

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Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio: “her tendency to put things out of her head are I think examples of her dissociation” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio agrees with the prosecutor that Murray’s mother said before meeting Ray, she was not suffering from cognitive deficits, got along well with others @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Prosecutor: “you’re aware that Erika Murray & Ray Rivera did not spend a lot of time together.” Dr. Rocchio: yes Prosecutor: he would work all day and then take his dinner down in the basement @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

 

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Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio says Ray would text Murray throughout the day and keep tabs on what she was doing @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Prosecutor: “you’re aware she successfully hid 5 pregnancies over an 8 yr period.” Dr. Rocchio: yes - she doesn’t see that as long-term planning @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Prosecutor: “it was evident Erika Murray had lied to the police on multiple occasions, correct?” Dr. Rocchio: “yes” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

 

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Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Prosecutor done with cross examination. Defense begins redirect. @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio’s take on Murray’s fake Facebook page: “she had a need to explain why she couldn’t go away for the weekend...she knew she couldn’t leave (the children) alone all weekend” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Rocchio says she did examine whether Murray had an antisocial personality disorder. She says it likely would have developed earlier in adolescence, she also had no power-seeking, controlling behavior - in fact it was opposite @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

 

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Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Defense is done with redirect. Prosecutor has no recross. Dr. Rocchio is excused. @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
The next defense witness is Dr. Judith Edersheim, a psychiatrist. @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Edersheim is the co-founder & co-director of The Center for Law, Brain and Behavior. She works at MGH and teaches at Harvard. @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

 

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Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Edersheim was also a law clerk in the Southern District of New York and practiced law in Boston. She says it gives her a more complete perspective on how the law applies to psychology & emerging neuroscience. @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Edersheim says she interviewed Murray 3 times, along with interviews of her mother, siblings and a neighbor. We are breaking for lunch now. Will resume around 2pm. @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Back from the lunch break, psychiatrist Dr. Judith Edersheim continues on the stand, discussing Erika Murray’s “thinking, her decision-making and her ability to process information” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

 

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Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Edersheim says Murray had “a vacancy that concerned me about her cognition.” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Edersheim: people like Murray, “they depend on external supports to help them work through daily problems” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Edersheim: “Erika has a remarkable paucity of interests and involvement...she performed to the level of a D average in school and didn’t graduate in high school, she couldn’t pass her driver’s test, she tried twice” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

 

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Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Edersheim says she interviewed Murray’s neighbor who said “she functioned at a very simple level and couldn’t do most things adults could do” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Edersheim says the neighbor relayed that Murray couldn’t handle taking her dog out to urinate, so she didn’t - she said Murray had “no coping skills, just a passive acceptance that this was the solution to this problem” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Edersheim testifies she believes Murray has “avoidant and dependent personality disorder” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

 

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Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Edersheim testifies when someone (like Murray) with avoidant and dependent personality disorder becomes dependent on someone (like Ray) they feverishly avoid losing that person. @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Edersheim testifies “this only got worse when she moved out of her parents’ house.” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Edersheim: “this dependency & this passivity continued...she performed almost no duties with respect to child rearing, she couldn’t drive...her mother performed the bulk of the child rearing duties” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

 

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Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Edersheim: Ray said Murray’s mom didn’t trust either of them to take care of a child, so she basically did everything for them @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Edersheim: when Murray got pregnant with her 2nd child, she was told she couldn’t stay at her parents’ house - “the bottom really fell out when she moved to 23 St. Paul St” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Edersheim says Murray had a “persistent depressive disorder...her mother said her functioning began declining within a year of meeting Ray” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

 

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Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
As Dr. Edersheim continues to testify about her mental state, Murray is sitting at defense table, blinking rapidly and looking forward, seemingly at nothing in particular. @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Edersheim: “Erika already had limited decision making ability...she really became quite immobilized...eventually stopped going outside...she didn’t care about anything except for the children” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Edersheim says of Murray’s functioning level: “it’s a very reactive and primitive way of thinking...in an almost childlike fantasy, you hope things go away.” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

 

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Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Edersheim says Murray “was someone who was wholly dependent on Mr. Rivera...he was psychologically abusive...he would threaten to leave as a way of controlling her behavior...he didn’t want her to have friends.” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Edersheim says of Rivera: “if she was found outside the house he would become very, very angry” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Edersheim says tactics Ray used on Murray were: “fear of abandonment and abuse, emotional abuse...calling her names...to further solidify his power over her daily life” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

 

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Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Edersheim continues to describe a very toxic relationship between Rivera & Murray, where Rivera’s alleged temper and controlling behavior increased as Murray became more withdrawn from society. @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Edersheim: after 2nd child Ray “had told Erika he would jump off a bridge if she had another child...he didn’t want another child and they couldn’t afford another child...and it was very clear to Erika” that it wasn’t an option @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors

Alysha Palumbo NBC10 Boston‏Verified account @AlyshaNBCBoston
Dr. Edersheim: “There’s no question Murray could lie and did lie...the question is about her motivation to lie...to please (police), to say what she thought was the right thing to try to get out of it” @NBC10Boston @NECN #Blackstone #HouseofHorrors