Cambridge, Mass. — Shedding tears and getting choked up at times, the burly truck driver who beat another father to death at their sons' hockey practice testified Wednesday that the other guy took a swing at him first and that he fought back in self-defense.
"I just wanted him to stop hitting me," said 44-year-old Thomas Junta.
Thomas Junta, of Reading, Mass., hugs his son Quinlan, 12, partially obscured at left, at the end of testimony in Junta's manslaughter trial in Cambridge, Mass. Junta is charged in connection with the July 5, 2000, beating death of Michael Costin after a youth hockey practice. Closing arguments were set for today.
Junta said he landed only three, off-balance blows against Michael Costin as the smaller man struggled beneath him on the ground.
Junta wept when he recalled that several children saw the fatal fight. Among them was his son, Quinlan, then 10, who testified in his father's defense a day earlier.
Junta is on trial on manslaughter charges in the fight that broke out at a Reading ice rink in July 2000 after the two fathers argued over rough play on the ice. Prosecutors say the 6-foot-1, 270-pound defendant overpowered Costin, who was an inch shorter and weighed 110 pounds less, and pummeled him. Costin never regained consciousness and died a day later.
During an aggressive cross-examination by prosecutor Sheila Calkins, Junta said he walked away from the fatal fight without checking to see if the victim was hurt.
"I thought when he laid back down that he was just resting," Junta testified, his voice choking and chin trembling. "I
didn't know the man was hurt."
He described how he grabbed Costin after the other man took a swing at him, then how the two fell to the ground.
"I didn't know what that guy was doing. Why was he even jumping at me?" Junta said. "It was crazy. I didn't know if he had something in his hands."
Junta said he was on his knees and Costin lay in front of him on his back, trying to punch and kick him. Junta said Costin held tight to his wrist and refused to let go.
The prosecution's medical experts have testified Costin was beaten with such force that the artery in the left side of his neck ruptured. A medical expert for the defense said that could have been caused by a single blow.
Junta said he did not hear the cries of two women who testified earlier they had yelled for Junta to stop hitting Costin and warned that he was going to kill the other man.
"The only thing I heard after that was a little boy say something," Junta said quietly, biting his lip and wiping his eyes.
Quinlan testified Tuesday that he yelled at his father to stop. The beating also was witnessed by Costin's sons, who were not called to testify.
Closing arguments were scheduled for today.
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