As he awaits fourth trial, convicted cop killer can go free on bail
His family just needs to raise the $50,000 cash first
Sean Ellis is $40,000 away from freedom.
The convicted cop killer, who last week won a motion for a new trial, can go home for the first time in nearly 22 years if his family can raise the $50,000 bond set by Suffolk Superior Court Judge Carol S. Ball today.
His mother, held tight by family during the hearing, cheered as Ball said she agreed with Ellis’ attorney, Rosemary Scapicchio. Ellis can go home on bond and with a GPS monitor.
Family and friends of the victim, Detective John J. Mulligan, stormed out of the courtroom, to chidings from Ball.
“C’mon boys, please don’t do that,’’ she said. A few sat back down.
Ellis, 40, has been locked up since he was 19, when he was arrested and charged with killing Mulligan. The Boston police detective was asleep in his car during a paid detail when he was shot to death on Sept. 26, 1993. Ellis was convicted in 1995 — after two mistrials — and sentenced to life without parole.
In her ruling allowing for a new trial, Ball said the prosecution was a “rush to judgement.’’ Three Boston police detectives who later pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges played key roles in the investigation of Mulligan’s death. They had motive to act quickly on the investigation, Ball wrote, to prevent their own crimes from being found out.
Information about other potential killers wasn’t forwarded to Ellis’ defense, Ball added.
Ellis’ co-defendant, Terry Patterson, is already free. He was convicted in a separate trial and in 2000, his conviction was vacated after fingerprint evidence used against him was thrown out. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was released in 2007.
Ball at one point interrupted Assistant District Attorney Edmond Zabin during his argument against bail, asking where Patterson was now. He didn’t know, he said.
Surrounded by media, Mulligan’s brother called Ellis a “savage.’’
“The bad guys are the good guys today,’’ Richard Mulligan said.
Zabin said Mulligan’s killing “was one of the most heinous murders this city has ever seen.’’
“The fact that this victim was a uniformed police officer on duty makes this crime really unparalleled in its severity,’’ he told the court.
Ellis’ family has been scrimping together the cash that they hoped they would need for his bail. With the help of church groups, they have $10,000 so far.
“We’ll get there,’’ his mother, Mary Ellis, said after the hearing.
She hasn’t seen her son outside of a jail or a courtroom since he was a teenager.
“I’m looking forward to that day when he steps his foot on the pavement,’’ she said.
Until they raise the rest, Sean Ellis will wait.
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