Massachusetts SJC upholds Dennis Bateman’s first-degree murder convictions

BOSTON — The state’s highest court has again upheld the 2007 conviction of a Greenfield man serving two consecutive life sentences for the strangulation death of a pregnant 21-year-old Deerfield gas station employee nearly 21 years ago.

The state Supreme Judicial Court on Friday affirmed the first-degree murder convictions of Dennis Bateman and denied his motion for a new trial in the 2005 killings of Brandy Waryasz and her unborn son. Bateman was found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder as well as one count of armed robbery for stealing a cash register containing $350 from the Sunoco station on Routes 5 and 10, after killing Waryasz.

Bateman had challenged issues related to audio recordings of police interviews conducted during the investigation and alleged ineffective assistance of both trial and prior appellate counsel, but the court found no error. The decision leaves Bateman’s convictions and consecutive life sentences intact. There is no possibility of parole.

“We are pleased the Supreme Judicial Court rejected the defendant’s latest challenge to his convictions,” said Northwestern First Assistant District Attorney Steven Gagne. “We hope this decision brings some long-overdue closure to Ms. Waryasz’s family.”

As required in all first-degree murder cases, Bateman’s convictions were automatically reviewed by the SJC, which affirmed them in 2023. Bateman subsequently filed a motion for a new trial, raising multiple claims of error. Judge John A. Agostini, who also presided over the Superior Court trial, denied the motion. Bateman appealed that denial to the Supreme Judicial Court, and oral arguments were held on Oct. 14, 2025.

Attorney Amy L. Codagnone argued on Bateman’s behalf.

“Since his arrest over two decades ago, Mr. Bateman has maintained his innocence, and he continues to do so,” she wrote in an email to the Recorder. “We are disappointed by the Court’s decision and are evaluating our options as Mr. Bateman continues his fight for justice.”

Prosecutors said Bateman, a career thief they said struggled with addiction, went to the Sunoco station on April 16, 2005, to try to persuade Waryasz, whom he knew from social gatherings, to participate in a staged robbery so he could get money to buy drugs. When Waryasz refused, prosecutors said, Bateman dragged her into the garage, wrapped a nylon strap around her neck and strangled her to death. He then ran off with the gas station’s cash register, which was never recovered.

According to testimony in the case, Bateman was seen at the gas station by multiple witnesses shortly before the murder. His DNA was also found in large amounts on the murder weapon and under Waryasz’s fingernails from where she had apparently tried to fend off her attacker.

Bateman maintained his innocence throughout the 12-day trial and cited racial discrimination and prejudice as reasons for his arrest days after the murder. He admitted to being at the gas station the day of the murder, but claims he was there earlier in the day. He had previously been convicted of other offenses, including breaking and entering, larceny, and escape from a work-release program.

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