Barbara Coyne | Homicide Watch Boston

Victim's family members speak at Kostka's sentencing

Gail Waterhouse — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 22:31:59 -0400

By Ben Thompson

Barbara Coyne's family spoke at her killer's sentencing on Wednesday, remembering how loving the 67-year-old South Boston grandmother was, and how she fought for her family, even in her last moments alive.

Last Friday, a jury convicted Timothy Kostka, 30, of Coyne's murder. On Wednesday a judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole, and a 20 to 25 year prison sentence for home invasion.

Barbara Coyne (handout photo)

Coyne’s relatives took to the stand in the crowded courtroom to address the event that has profoundly impacted their family over the past three years.

Richard Coyne, Barbara’s son and the first person to find her after Kostka’s brutal attack, told the court amidst tears how he missed his mother and her daily coffee, as well as how proud he was of her. Coyne finished his victim impact statement by commenting that life in prison was too good for Kostka.

Barbara Coyne’s sister, Pat, was the next to speak. She went on to thank the law enforcement and legal teams that participated in the case, and concluded by saying that Kostka was too dangerous to ever be let out of prison.

“She brought us through far too many family tragedies with nurturing and love. I know if you had just asked her for help, she would have done it," Pat Coyne addressed Kosta.

Sinead Coyne, Barbara's granddaughter, was the last of the family to make a statement. Her personal testimony focused on her feelings of loss, and her hope that Barbara Coyne would be remembered more as a loving person than as evidence in court.

“She truly was strength and grace personified,” Sinead told the court. “Her generosity knew no bounds.”

Following the statements from Coyne’s family, defense attorney William Gens highlighted Kostka’s childhood, work and life achievements before mentioning the opiate addiction that led to Coyne’s murder. Kostka had broken into her home to steal valuables which he hoped to sell for heroin money, and slit her throat in a struggle when she happened upon him.

Judge Mitchell Kaplan, who presided over the case over the last several weeks, handed down concurrent sentences for Kostka's two crimes and remarked on the tragedy the ongoing opiate crisis had caused for the Kostka and Coyne families.

The two households had known each other for years before Barbara's murder.

Kostka found guilty of South Boston grandmother's murder

Gail Waterhouse — Sun, 11 Oct 2015 22:19:31 -0400

By Mackenzie Nichols

A jury declared Timothy Kostka guilty of first-degree murder and home invasion Friday in the death of 67-year-old a South Boston woman. Kotska, 30, faces a life sentence for the murder of Barbara Coyne, whom he beat, stabbed, and robbed for heroin money in April 2012.

After three days of deliberations, the jury revealed their verdict to a packed courtroom, and both the Kostka and Coyne families left in tears. Coyne’s relatives embraced one another and shared congratulations while the Kotska family quickly vacated the courtroom, according to reports from inside the courtroom.

As Barbara Coyne’s son, Richard Coyne, left Suffolk Superior Court, he smiled and was thankful for the hard work of both the police and District Attorney, the Boston Herald reports.

“They did an outstanding job, from day one,” Coyne told the Herald.

Despite defense attorney William Gens’ efforts to question the validity of the stolen lottery tickets, the physical evidence found at the scene was enough to result in a conviction.

“Given the facts of this case, first-degree murder was the only appropriate verdict,” District Attorney Daniel Conley said in a press release. “Barbara Coyne was an innocent victim, and the man who killed her deserves nothing less than life in prison.”

Under Massachusetts law, Kostka faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the first-degree murder charge. A judge will formally sentence him in Suffolk Superior Court on Wednesday morning.

Jury begins deliberations in Timothy Kostka trial

Gail Waterhouse — Wed, 07 Oct 2015 22:06:46 -0400

By Janine Eduljee, Aren Lebrun and Ben Thompson

Testimony wrapped up Wednesday in the murder trial of Timothy Kostka, who is accused of murdering Barbara Coyne in her apartment in April 2012.

On Tuesday, two witnesses were brought in to give testimonies: Timothy Kostka’s cousin Melinda Kostka, and his mother Nancy Kostka.

According to Melinda Kostka’s testimony, the Coynes and Kostkas were old family friends who both frequented the Columbia Yacht Club for birthdays. The defendant had apparently bought a boat from the victim’s son, Richard Coyne.

Nancy Kostka’s testimony focused more on her son, who she claimed she knew was a heroin addict, and knew in April 2012 that he had relapsed.

"He is my son. I could tell by looking at him when he was using, and he was." said Nancy Kostka.

At the time of the murder, Nancy said Timothy Kostka was unemployed and borrowing money from his mother to pay cell phone bills.

Closing arguments commenced Wednesday morning.

Defense attorney William Gens emphasized the importance of reasonable doubt, pointing out what he called inconsistencies in evidence.

Gens declared that if they found Kostka innocent, they could feel proud to be serving the U.S. justice system. He argued that the police singularly pursued the defendant and had “systematically ignored” evidence in the case.

As a final word before deliberations, the judge advised the jurors not to take their duties lightly, and provide a fair and informed verdict, deciding the fate of not only an accused murderer, but also the many family members tied to this emotionally charged case.

Kostka's DNA was under victim Barbara Coyne's fingernails, expert testifies

Gail Waterhouse — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 23:59:37 -0400

Relatives, law enforcement agents and experts testified this week during the trial of Timothy Kostka, an alleged heroin addict who is accused of killing 67-year-old Barbara Coyne in her South Boston home in April of 2012.

Kostka, now 30, is being charged with first degree murder in Coyne's death. Coyne, who was a retired nurse and grandmother, died after her throat was slashed on the morning of April 16, 2012.

Prosecutors allege that Kostka, who knew the Coyne family well, was searching for expensive fishing gear that Richard Coyne owned. Instead, he found Barbara Coyne in her

Last week, Barbara Coyne's son Richard testified about finding his mother bleeding profusely in her bedroom. Earlier this week, Barbara Coyne's granddaughter Sinead, who lived on the first floor of the triple-decker home on East Seventh Street, described walking into her grandmother's room and seeing her "laying in a pool of blood on the floor."

Prosecutors say Kostka, who knew the Coyne family well, was allegedly looking for expensive fishing gear Richard Coyne, an avid fisherman, owned. Clyne testified that Kostka had even called him earlier that morning about where he could sell it.

Instead of gear, however, Kostka found Barbara Coyne, allegedly ransacking her jewelry box and a coin jar. He slashed her throat using a dull knife, then stole winning lottery tickets from another room in her home.

A Boston police sergeant testified that when he and another officer arrived at the scene, Coyne was able to provide them with a partial description of her assailant.

She said he was a white man who was taller and younger than her son Richard, and was wearing a white t-shirt.

On Wednesday, Kostka's defense team spent the entire morning cross-examining Boston Police Sergeant John Foley about the crime scene, and about the lottery tickets Kostka allegedly cashed at Jimmy's Korner store.

Other witnesses who have testified during the trial include associates of Kostka's, including one man who testified that the pair would get high on heroin together, and Kostka would often bring stolen items instead of money to pay for drugs.

Multiple experts have also testified in the case, including a security investigator at the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission, as well as technicians who analyzed fingerprints and DNA related to the case.

Police criminalist Joseph Ross testified that he found two different people under Coyne's fingernails. One was likely her own, Ross testified, and the other was a match to Timothy Coyne.

The trial will continue Monday. Jurors could begin deliberating as early as next Wednesday.

Matthew Tota, Mackenzie Nichols, Aren LeBrun, Meredith Gorman, Janine Eduljee, Pranav Temburnikar and Aneri Pattani contributed to this report.

South Boston murder victim's son testifies in Timothy Kostka trial

Gail Waterhouse — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 23:30:43 -0400

By Aneri Pattani

In Suffolk Superior Court Thursday, Richard Coyne recalled the last few interactions he had with his mother, Barbara Coyne, before the 67-year-old was murdered in her South Boston home in 2012.

Timothy Kostka, a 30-year-old South Boston man, is being charged with first-degree murder in the case.

Richard Coyne ran the Boston Marathon for 20 years, but on Marathon Monday in 2012, he wasn’t making his way toward the finish line at Boylston Street. Instead, he was holding a towel to his mother’s throat, trying to stop the blood that was flowing from a stab wound.

“The night before [the marathon], my mother said it was too hot and she told me not to run,” Richard Coyne recalled.

The next morning, April 16, began routinely for the family. Richard Coyne came down from his third-floor apartment in the family’s triple-decker and had coffee with his mother.

A few hours later, just after 10 a.m., he returned to the first-floor apartment to find his mother lying face down on the floor of her bedroom.

“I thought she was plugging something in,” Coyne testified in court. “When I got close, I saw the blood.”

Coyne said he rushed to grab a towel and call 911. He used the towel to put pressure on his mother’s wound until the paramedics arrived.

He tried to question her about the attack, but “by the time I got to the third question, she couldn’t talk anymore,” Coyne said. Barbara Coyne was having difficulty breathing, Richard Coyne recalled, his voice wavering as he tried to hold back tears on the witness stand.

Barbara Coyne was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead later that day.

Prosecutors allege that Kostka, a family friend of the Coynes who lived a few blocks away, entered the East 7th Street home the morning of April 16, 2012, and killed Coyne.

Kostka's defense team highlighted inconsistencies in Richard Coyne’s story about what his mother said after the attack. In a police interview, Coyne reportedly said his mother described the attacker as a big man, yet Coyne did not recall those details in Thursday’s testimony, the defense pointed out.

The trial is set to resume Friday morning in Suffolk Superior Court.