Strange taste of freedom

Acquitted in murders, Brockton man ready to resume his life

Kenneth S. Choy calls Robert J. Galibois II (left) "my lifesaver lawyer." Choy wants to find a job and visit his family in Hong Kong. (SUZANNE KREITER/GLOBE STAFF)

BROCKTON - Kenneth S. Choy emerged from the Plymouth County House of Correction last week with no permanent address, no car, and no driver's license. His closest family lives in his native Hong Kong.

After five years in jail awaiting trial, he won't have to wear the same green nylon uniform, day in, day out. No more food from the jail cafeteria. No more fearing inmates who threatened the slightly built 21-year-old.

In an interview yesterday, Choy's face lit up at the mere mention of a trip to Wal-Mart over the weekend. "I got to walk around the store, and I actually got to pick out clothes," said Choy, smiling at the thought. "It feels very strange. Everything seems so new."

Choy was found not guilty Friday of a spectacular crime that drew major headlines five years ago: He was charged with burning his grandparents to death.

Authorities had alleged that Choy and his 17-year-old aunt, Frances Y. Choy, deliberately set the fire that killed Anne and Jimmy Choy in their Brockton home to collect the insurance money. Plastic bottles filled with gasoline were found at the scene, and authorities said they detected gasoline on Frances's sweatpants. Prosecutors alleged that Kenneth Choy had written detailed plans about setting the blaze.

At the time of his arrest, Choy was a 10th-grader at Brockton High School. He stood 5 feet tall and weighed 105 pounds. He had been living with his grandparents since he arrived in the United States on March 27, 2000, and was still learning to speak English.

He was charged with two counts of murder in the first degree and faced life in prison if convicted. "I was so young, and you can see I'm so small," he said. "It was really hard to survive in the prison system."

He faced a bleak future. His defense lawyer advised him to plead guilty so he could get a lesser sentence. "Basically he was telling me to throw my life away," Choy said. "I thought it was a professional opinion . . . that this is how justice goes, you know?

After dealing with two defense lawyers, Choy contacted Robert J. Galibois II in September 2007 and told him about his case. Choy calls Galibois "my lifesaver lawyer."

Galibois told Choy he did not have to plead guilty to anything he did not do and ultimately brought the case to trial last month.

Choy and his lawyer argued that he did not light the fire and was not present when it was lit. Galibois said that Choy's aunt had sent him to his room and that Choy then heard "the whoosh sound" of the flames. Early on, Choy told police that Frances offered him money to help her burn the house down, but that he had backed out of the plot.

"He knew this was wrong," Galibois said yesterday. "He backed out. He withdrew."

The Plymouth Superior Court jury found Choy not guilty after two days of deliberation. Now he must start his life over.

"He went in before he could even drive, and now he's 21; he's old enough to buy beer," said Galibois.

In the short time he has been free, Choy has not been back to his grandparents home on Belair Street and has not spoken to his aunt, either. Frances Choy, now 22, remains in custody at MCI-Framingham. She stood trial last month, but the jury was deadlocked and could not reach a verdict on the charges of arson and first-degree murder. She will return to court to face trial a second time April 8.

"I still love her," he said. "During the last five years I think she should get in touch with me or tell her family the truth. She made her family to not support me, so I was alone in this country, behind bars, and . . . that was the lowest point in my life. I definitely needed some help. I still need some help."

In prison, he wrote letters to his family in Hong Kong. "You can't make international phone calls in jail," he said.

While incarcerated, he also got two prison tattoos. They were made with homemade ink, from a mixture of soot from a burnt chess game piece, toothpaste, and dandruff shampoo. Choy got his mother's name, Polly, tattooed on his left wrist, and his late father's name, Donny, on his right. His father committed suicide when he was 12, because he owed money to the Chinese mafia.

"It was very painful, but I was hopeless, so I just wanted to put my father and mothers names on me," he said.

Choy wants to get a job so he can support himself and find a place to live. For now, he is living with a friend. He wants to visit his family in Hong Kong. His younger brother recently underwent surgery and had a bone marrow transplant. Choy wants to get his GED and apply to college. He's thinking of becoming a lawyer.

"I'm just trying to get my life back," he said.

Emily Sweeney can be reached at esweeney@globe.com.