Highway Crossbow Killer Seeks New Trial

A man convicted nearly 20 years ago of murder on the shoulder of I-95 in Attleboro with a crossbow has requested a new trial. Attorney Patricia Quintilian says her client Donald Graham, 73, a former deacon at First Baptist Church, did not receive a fair trial because jury selection was improperly closed to the public, according to The Woonsocket Call.

"Jury selection is considered a material part of the trial," Quintilian told The Call. "When the judge closed it, Mr. Graham's rights were violated."

Graham was convicted of first-degree murder in 1996, two years after he killed 42-year-old Michael Blodgett. The case received national attention as an extreme case of road rage. Graham is the subject of a book released last year titled Deacon's Crossbow. The author is Alaska resident Dave Brown, a friend of Graham's who met him 25 years ago when the convicted murderer was a deacon in Woonsocket. The Call says Brown is involved in the request for a new trial.

The Call described the Feb. 20, 1994 killing that happened after Graham said he was offended by a motorist flashing his high beams at a car traveling in front of him on I-95. Graham pursued the driver with his own high beams, resulting in series of aggressive driving maneuvers from Blodgett, ending with both cars pulled over on the highway. Graham armed himself with a crossbow from his trunk: 

"By this time, both men were within striking distance of each other," Quintilian's court papers say. "Mr. Graham, while backing up, shouted for the men to 'Hold it, stop right there.' He requested them to stop two more times to no avail. The victim grabbed for the bow and it fired."

After being struck in the chest, Blodgett died of massive internal hemorrhaging at Sturdy Memorial Hospital.