DEDHAM, MASS. (WHDH) – One of the twelve jurors who convicted Emanuel Lopes of the 2018 murders of Weymouth Police Sgt. Michael Chesna and 77-year-old Vera Adams is recalling the lengthy deliberations and the emotional testimony.
The verdict last week brought thunderous applause and cheers from the family of the slain police officer, along with members of the law enforcement community, who waited an agonizing six days before the jury returned the guilty verdicts — 11 in all.
The juror, who asked not to be identified, told 7’s Steve Cooper about her experience.
“We did what they asked us to do, I’m not saying it wasn’t hard, but we did it,” she said.
This was the second time in six months prosecutors presented the case to a jury. Last summer, the trial ended with a hung jury.
This time around, jurors on three occasions indicated to the judge they were deadlocked before returning the guilty verdicts Friday afternoon after 32 hours of deliberations.
“It was a lot and it was a relief but it was long it definitely was an emotional situation,” the juror recalled.
The juror that we spoke with says in the end they got it right.
“It was a big responsibility but it was something we were called upon to do and we did it … we were determined to do our job to the best of our ability and that’s what we did.”
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