Man Released From Jail...Commits Murder Next Day

[bloodrayne]

Hammer Murder Trial May Begin Today

One day after his March 2002 release from jail for attacking a man with a hammer, Craig Powell of Dorchester allegedly returned to the man's apartment and finished the job.

That, according to police, is how Gerard Bannon, 45, died of head trauma as he sat in his favorite recliner in his basement apartment at 2175 Dorchester Ave. in Lower Mills. Powell, 43, is slated to begin his trial today in Suffolk Superior Court for the first-degree murder of Bannon.

On Friday, Judge Margot Botsford, prosecutor Mark Hallal and defense attorney Fran Robinson chose 10 of the 16 jurors needed for the trial that will last about two weeks. Jury selection will continue Monday, and opening statements are expected to be delivered tomorrow.

Neither side would comment, but a person close to the case characterized Bannon's injuries as ``horrific.''

Police allege Powell killed Bannon about 5 a.m. March 2, 2002 - a day after he was released from the Nashua Street Jail, where he was being held for hitting Bannon in the head with a hammer during a fight two months earlier. Bannon and Powell lived in the same building at the time, authorities said.

When officers arrived, they found Powell nearby with blood spots on his face and clothes and a blood-spattered hammer tucked into the waistband of his pants, according to court documents.

Powell explained he went to Bannon's apartment to retrieve some tools he had loaned him and found his bloody body on the floor, according to the documents. He allegedly said he picked up the body and placed it in the chair.