A man whose second-degree murder conviction for shooting an off-duty Revere police officer was vacated by the state appeals court, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Thursday and will avoid a new trial.
Robert Iacoviello, now 30, was convicted in 2010 of shooting off-duty Revere Police Officer Daniel Talbot, killing him, on Sept. 29, 2007. The conviction was overturned in 2016.
The evidence at trial proved that Iacoviello was summoned to the area by an associate who had exchanged words with Talbot and his group, at which time Iacoviello traveled to another location to obtain a handgun and fired on Talbot when he arrived at the scene.
The Massachusetts Appeals Court reversed the jury’s verdict in 2016, finding that the trial judge did not instruct jurors on self-defense and manslaughter.
The appeals court ordered a new trial, but Iacoviello will avoid that by pleading guilty to a lesser charge. Before the judge accepted his plea, Officer Talbot’s former fiancé took the stand. She was with him the night he was gunned down.
“I now live my life with the last vision of Dan gasping for air while I held his hand, telling him to be strong and that I loved him,” Constance Dussault said.
State prosecutors said the passing of time and new instructions for the jury would have made the case tough try again. However, the victim’s brother said the outcome is still tough to accept.
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“The fact the court is even considering a manslaughter case for a cop killer is absurd to me and I just don’t understand it,” Paul Talbot said. “It’s not fair to me and it’s not fair to my family what that man did.”
Iacoviello was originally sentenced to 14 years, but since he's been behind bars since 2007, he is set to be released October 2021.
“There’s nothing I can do to bring him back,” Iacoviello told the court. “But I apologize and I take responsibility for my actions.”
