Two versions of fatal Quincy stabbing: Self-defense vs. premeditated murder

DEDHAM - In opening statements in the trial of Alyssa Dellamano, the defense and prosecution gave different versions of what happened on the night of Sept. 11, 2020, when a stabbing in the parking lot of Supreme Liquors on Hancock Street in Quincy left a 24-year old Milton man dead. Dellamano was indicted on a murder charge in December 2020.

Dellamano approached and stabbed Cameron Nohmy twice with the intent of killing him, Assistant District Attorney Carolyn Hely said. Defense attorney Elliot Levine said Dellamano acted in self-defense.

About 40 friends and family members of Nohmy were in Dedham Superior Court. They included his mother, Beth Ann Nohmy-Johnson, who testified for the prosecution. Dellamano’s mother was also in court, accompanied by four others.

The prosecution's opening statement: 'Deliberate premeditation'

Hely described “a senseless and cruel murder of 24-year-old Cameron Nohmy at the hands of the defendant.”

She said Nohmy and his friends were watching the Celtics at a Quincy apartment. At halftime, Hely said the group drove to the liquor store to buy more beer. Nohmy’s friend drove his pickup into the parking lot, where Hely said Dellamano and her friends had gathered.

Hely described the two groups of people as “total strangers.” She said that Russo swerved his truck around Dellamano, and the two parties exchanged hostile words.

“Cameron’s hanging out of the window,” Hely said. “He tosses a Bud Light can out the window. He’d been drinking. He flops out of the passenger window of the truck. As that’s happening, the defendant is advancing toward the truck.”

Hely said that when Nohmy fell out of the truck, Dellamano was already there, knife in hand.

“She connects twice,” Hely said. “Each one severed an artery. He bleeds out.”

Hely said that after stabbing Nohmy, Dellamano left the scene, evaded investigators for four days and disposed of the clothes she was wearing on the night of Sept. 11.

She told the jury that a first-degree murder conviction requires proof of “deliberate premeditation.” She said that although no bad blood existed between the two prior to their encounter, Dellamano formed the intent to stab and murder Nohmy before she advanced towards him.

“That is deliberate premeditation,” she said. “This was not done in proper self-defense.”

The defense's opening remarks: Self-defense

Levine challenged the prosecution’s narrative, saying that Nohmy did not fall, but jumped out of the window of the pickup truck.

“There was no time for reflection. Cameron jumps out the window,” Levine said. “He is eager to get at the 'dyke bitch,' which is what (Dellamano) is called. The driver is running around the front of the car. She stabs Mr. Nohmy three times (connecting twice).

“You will conclude this was not manslaughter but in fact self-defense,” Levine said.

Levine told the jurors, that although they will watch video in slow motion, the incident occurred quickly. “The guy was eager, coming at her. She stabs him twice, not in the heart, not the neck, not the head, the kind of places where there may be an intent to kill.”

He said the video footage will show Dellamano operated in self-defense. “A picture is worth a thousand words,” he said. “Here, we have better than that. We have a video of what happened. The video will show it all.”

Dellamano wiped tears away as Levine addressed the jury.

Details of the 2020 Quincy killing

Dellamano was charged with murder in the stabbing death of Nohmy, who authorities say was killed the night of Sept. 11, 2020, in the parking lot of Supreme Liquors at Hancock and Woodbine streets in Wollaston.

Authorities say that Nohmy and friends pulled into the liquor store in a pickup truck between 10 and 11 p.m. and encountered a group of people at the parking lot entrance. According to a witness statement, the two groups began yelling at each other.

Detectives who reviewed security footage from the liquor store said a person in a light-colored hooded sweatshirt, later identified by witnesses as Dellamano, approached Nohmy when he got out of the truck and appeared to swing at him multiple times. Nohmy fell to the ground, got up and returned to the truck.

Quincy police responded to a 911 call at 10:46 p.m. and found paramedics treating Nohmy about a block from where the stabbing occurred. He was taken to Boston Medical Center and pronounced dead at 12:08 a.m.

Security footage from Supreme Liquors shows the assailant get in a two-toned SUV, which sped off down Woodbine Street toward the Wollaston MBTA Station. MBTA surveillance video shows a clear image of Dellamano's face, authorities said.

Eyewitness testimony

A court officer escorted Amos Sykes into the courtroom. Sykes had failed to respond to a court summons, and a bench warrant for his arrest was issued the day before the trial began. He entered wearing restraints on his hands and legs.

When asked by Hely what happened on the night of the incident, Sykes, who described himself as a longtime friend of Dellamano and her family, said he saw a truck in the liquor store parking lot, and a man was yelling slurs and disrespectful words out of the window. He could not recall exactly what was shouted out the window but said it may have been the n-word.

Sykes said that one of the people in the truck, later identified as Nohmy, tried to jump out of the window, but “fell flat on his face.” Amid the confusion, Sykes said he did not see the stabbing. He said that after the confrontation, Nohmy’s friends apologized for being drunk and then left.

He said he remained on the scene and spoke with police, who told him the man who fell out of the truck window had died.

According to his testimony, Sykes later met Dellamano at the Wollaston T station, where he told her about Nohmy’s death.

“She was shocked,” Sykes said.

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Reach Peter Blandino at pblandino@patriotledger.com

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Woman on trial in Quincy liquor store parking lot death