Jury selection underway in murder trial of Marshfield woman accused of killing her husband

PLYMOUTH ‒ The murder trial of Christine Ricci, the Marshfield woman accused of stabbing her husband, Michael Ricci, to death in early 2021, began Monday in Plymouth Superior Court with jury selection. Christine Ricci's attorneys have claimed self-defense.

Here's how Judge Diane Freniere described the case to about 40 potential jurors:

"At 4:46 p.m. on Jan. 28, 2021, Marshfield police responded to a 911 call from Sophiya Ricci, the 16-year-old daughter of Michael and Christine, who reported that her father was unconscious on the floor of their home.

"The commonwealth alleges that the defendant stabbed her husband two times with a knife in the center of the chest and the upper rear left shoulder. He was transported to South Shore Hospital and pronounced dead at 5:30 p.m. The defendant denies the allegations and has pleaded not guilty."

When will the trial begin and how long will it take?

Freniere told prospective jurors that the trial will begin later this week after a jury is empaneled.

Attorneys involved in the case say they expect it will take five days to present all the evidence, Freniere said. The trial is expected to conclude at the end of next week, when jurors will begin deliberations.

Who are the witnesses expected to testify?

The prosecution submitted a list of 42 potential witnesses. They include the Riccis' three children, Angel, Michael Jr. and Sophiya.

The prosecution's anticipated witnesses also include four Marshfield police officers, the deputy chief of the Marshfield Fire Department, two Pembroke police officers, three emergency medical technicians and six state troopers. Also on the list are nine people involved with State Police Crime Scene Services and Crime Laboratory.

The prosecution expects to call one nurse and one doctor from South Shore Hospital and three employees of the state Department of Children and Families. A physician employed by the state chief medical examiner's office also appears on the list.

Defense lawyers submitted an anticipated witness list including six people: a Hanover psychiatrist, a nurse at a Braintree recovery center, a nurse at Pembroke Hospital, a counselor and hypnotherapist practicing in Norwell, a mental health counselor working in Pembroke and a pediatric nurse practitioner working in Plymouth.

A look back at the case

Marshfield police went to the Ricci home on Jan. 28, 2021, after the couple’s 16-year-old child called 911. Firefighters treating Michael Ricci, 51, found that he had been stabbed in the heart and on the back of his left shoulder. He had also been slashed on his back, according to the Plymouth County district attorney’s office.

Ricci, a 23-year Boston firefighter, was taken to South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, where he was pronounced dead.

Christine Ricci, who was 46 at the time of her arrest, has said her husband had been suffering a manic episode for three days when he came in from shoveling snow. She said an argument ensued and that he became aggressive, grabbed her throat and threw her to the floor.

According to the prosecutor at the time of her arraignment, Christine Ricci said she grabbed a knife to scare him away. He then lunged at her, and that’s when she plunged the knife into his chest, she said.

Both Michael and Christine Ricci had mental health issues, but no records exist to support the claims of manic behavior on Michael Ricci’s part, prosecutors said.

At Christine Ricci's May 2021 arraignment, Assistant District Attorney Shanan Buckingham said an affair by Michael Ricci led to marital issues for which the couple sought therapy.

Christine Ricci had been aggressive in the past, Buckingham said, leaving her husband with bruises and a fat lip.

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Peter Blandino covers Quincy for The Patriot Ledger. Contact him at pblandino@patriotledger.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Jury selection underway in murder trial of Marshfield woman accused of killing her husband