“It was a short period of time,’’ Solimini said, recalling that day in December 1986, according to newly released court documents detailing testimony given two years ago during a belated inquest into Seth Bishop’s death.
The more than 300 pages of previously impounded testimony provides the most detailed account to date of the police response to the Bishops’ home that day and the investigation that followed. But it leaves unanswered a critical question: What happened during that 20-minute period to persuade the police to change course and not press charges against a woman who had run through the neighborhood with a loaded gun, confronting two police officers and two bystanders.
Large sections of crucial testimony were redacted from the inquest transcript, including all 20 pages of testimony from John V. Polio, the Braintree police chief at the time. Also redacted were key sections where it appeared answers were about to be provided.
The death of Seth Bishop at his sister’s hands and how law enforcement handled the case came under intense scrutiny after Bishop allegedly gunned down three colleagues during a 2010 faculty meeting at the University of Alabama-Huntsville.
The Norfolk district attorney soon requested the inquest into Seth Bishop’s death, which led to Amy Bishop’s indictment on first-degree murder charges in June 2010.
The same day, the Globe filed a civil suit, seeking a transcript of the hearing and the judge’s report.
A superior court justice released the documents Tuesday but redacted sections that could prejudice a jury in the Alabama case. He also redacted statements made by witnesses, including Polio, who are now deceased.
Bishop is scheduled to go on trial in Alabama on March 19 and will be pursuing an insanity defense. Alabama prosecutors have stated their intention to seek the death penalty.
“Given the nature of these cases, this court must be particularly sensitive to the prejudice that would likely flow from the release of inquest materials based on their potential to infect prospective jurors,’’ Justice Kenneth Fishman wrote in his decision.
