NORTHAMPTON — A jury found Steven Malloy not guilty of first-degree murder on Friday, nearly three years after he was arrested following the shooting death of a Pittsfield man in a Northampton apartment.

The Hampshire Superior Court jury deliberated for about 5½ hours on Thursday and Friday before reaching its verdict that Malloy, 35, did not kill Joseph Fillio, 39, during a party at an apartment on Dec. 1, 2021.

When the verdict was read, Malloy did not have a visible reaction, which was consistent with his demeanor throughout the trial, where he mostly sat attentively and occasionally took notes.

The not guilty verdict comes despite testimony from a witness in the trial, Todd Wilchek, who testified he saw Malloy pull out a gun, point it to Fillio’s head and shoot. Fillio died at the apartment of Jessica Dupell on Randolph Place in Northampton, during a party attended by Malloy, Wilchek, Fillio’s boyfriend Andee Wadas (who has since died of lymphoma), and Chhieng Iv, a mutual acquaintance of Wilchek’s and Malloy’s.

Malloy’s defense attorney, Joseph Perullo, had tried to discredit Wilchek’s testimony by noting inconsistencies in Wilchek’s timeline of events, and that Wilchek also acknowledged leaving the house briefly to make a phone call before Fillio’s death. Wilchek also told the court during cross-examination he remembered playing with a cat while at the apartment, while police on the scene testified they had not seen signs of a cat residing at Dupell’s apartment.

“We thank the jury for their service,” Perullo told the Gazette following the trial. “They paid attention during the trial, were diligent in their deliberations and they came to a just verdict.”

Another obstacle for the prosecution in the case was a lack of physical evidence linking Malloy to the murder. Malloy’s hands and clothes had tested negative for gunshot residue after his arrest, though blood on Malloy’s shoes was a match for Fillio’s DNA.

The gun used to kill Fillio was never recovered by police, although a photo of a Ruger LCP semiautomatic pistol matching the description of the weapon by Wilchek was found on Malloy’s phone following a forensic analysis by police. The gun in the photo is also held by a hand with black nail polish and a turquoise thumb ring, matching Malloy’s hands at the time of his arrest.

During the trial, Perullo did not deny that the gun in the photo belonged to Malloy and that his client had been present in the apartment at the time of Fillio’s death, but instead presented an alternative scenario that Fillio had pulled the trigger himself and committed suicide. To support his theory, Perullo submitted as evidence Fillio’s records from the Berkshire Medical Center that showed he struggled with mental health issues and suicidal ideation, having been admitted in April following a suicide attempt by overdose. A toxicology report by a medical examiner also showed that Fillio had alcohol, cocaine, marijuana and amphetamines in his system at the time of his death.

The prosecution, led by Assistant District Attorney Matthew Thomas, brought forth testimony by Wilchek and police officers on the scene such as the Northampton Police Department’s Matthew Knowlton, who said that when he arrived Wadas pointed and yelled “go get him,” referring to Malloy.

But in the end, it was not enough to convince the jury, which arrived at its verdict shortly before noon on Friday.

“It’s difficult, but I think the system is designed so that if competent evidence gets in front of a jury by practitioner who is acting in good faith, then no matter the verdict, society steps forward,” Thomas told the Gazette following the trial.

Though Malloy may be cleared of the murder charge, the jury found him guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm for the Ruger LCP he was seen holding in the photo obtained from his phone.

Malloy has two previous convictions in unrelated violent crime cases. Once those convictions are found to be definitively linked to Malloy, the unlawful firearm conviction would make him an armed career criminal. He could face a minimum of 10 years and up to 15 years in prison in that case.

Malloy is set to return to Superior Court on Nov. 15 for a staus hearing on the gun possession verdict.

On Friday, Malloy’s bail was set at $10,000, which if posted would free him from prison for the first time in more than two years. Following the verdict, Thomas went to shake hands with several police officers sitting in the gallery who had come to watch, apologizing to them.

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.