Conviction Upheld for Man Who Killed 84-Year-Old Woman

The highest court in Massachusetts has upheld the murder conviction of a man who beat his friend's 84-year-old great aunt in the head with a frying pan so he could share in the friend's inheritance.

Thomas Lally was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2001 killing of Marina Calabro. Her death was originally ruled an accident after her body was found at the bottom of stairs in her Quincy home.

Prosecutors said three men plotted to kill Calabro, including her great nephew, Anthony Calabro, so he could get his share of an inheritance worth more than $260,000. Calabro pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

The Supreme Judicial Court upheld Lally's conviction Thursday, rejecting his claim that his lawyer was ineffective for advising him to testify in his own defense.