Former Bristol County ADA Rayburn Nominated to Superior Court

Katie C. Rayburn, the former Assistant District Attorney for Bristol County who successfully prosecuted Michelle Carter, has been nominated by Governor Charlie Baker as Associate Justice of the Superior Court.

Baker made the nomination today. He also nominated Sarah W. Ellis as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and Erika P. Reis as an Associate Justice of the Boston Municipal Court.

“Justices Rayburn and Ellis are both experienced judges who are excellent candidates for these appointments, and Attorney Reis is well-qualified to serve on the bench,” Baker said in a release. “I am pleased to submit their nominations to the Governor's Council for their advice and consent.”

The Governor’s Council must sign off on judicial nominations in Massachusetts.

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Rayburn was nominated by Baker to the position of Associate Justice of the District Court in 2017, following a career as a litigator that began in 2001.

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in political science at UMass Dartmouth in 1996, Rayburn earned her Juris Doctorate from Suffolk University Law School in 1999. After beginning her legal career as an associate at a private firm, Rayburn then joined the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office.

She litigated over 150 criminal trials before moving back into private practice with the Law Office of Daniel W. O’Malley in 2005. Rayburn returned to public service in 2008, becoming an ADA in Bristol County. She served as the Director of the Domestic Violence Unit and as the Deputy Chief of the Homicide Unit.

While serving in the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office, Rayburn won 13 of the 14 murder trials she prosecuted – including the high-profile conviction of Carter, who was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the suicide of her boyfriend, Mattapoisett’s Conrad Roy III.

The nomination of Rayburn to the Superior Court comes just one day after the series finale of The Girl From Plainville was released on the Hulu streaming service. The series offers a somewhat fictionalized account of Carter and Roy’s relationship, Roy’s suicide, and Carter’s trial. In the series, Rayburn is portrayed by Aya Cash.

Massachusetts Unresolved Cases Playing Cards

Playing cards are being distributed to inmates in Massachusetts correctional facilities depicting the victims of unsolved murders and disappearances in the hopes that some inmates may recognize them and help bring closure to their cases.

Gallery Credit: Tim Weisberg

The Victims in the New Bedford Highway Murders

The New Bedford highway murders took place in 1988, with the bodies discovered into 1989. The killer is confirmed to have killed nine women and suspected of murdering at least two more. Although there were at least three different men considered as suspects by the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office, the murders remain unsolved and the families of the victims are still searching for closure. The cases are all featured on the unsolved cases page of the Bristol County District Attorney's Office website.

Gallery Credit: Tim Weisberg