An appeals court has granted a new trial for a man convicted in the 2013 double murder of his estranged wife and her friend in Binghamton.
On Thursday, Aaron Powell was granted a new trial in a decision by the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division.Powell had previously been found guilty of first and second-degree murder in the death of his estranged wife, Christina and her friend Mario Maschiarelli in her town of Binghamton home in March 2013.
In the Thursday’s decision, the court cited a juror who had been a partner at a local law firm, but did not show any grounds for dismissal and was sworn in as a trial juror on the first day of jury selection.It was later determined that that same law office had been representing Powell in his pending divorce from Christina, and that it also represented Powell’s parents in a custody proceeding.
The appellate court stated that “the juror did not personally represent Powell’s parents, and that the relationship shared by her firm and Powell’s family was purely of a professional nature… Nonetheless, the law firm owed Powell’s family a clear and paramount duty to represent their interests.”The case was prosecuted by former Broome County District Attorney Gerald Mollen.Incumbent District Attorney Steve Cornell will retry the case.
