Jury finds man guilty of raping and strangling woman inside her Quincy apartment in 2009

A Norfolk Superior Court jury on Monday convicted a man of raping and strangling 33-year-old Mary Beaton to death inside her Quincy apartment in 2009, prosecutors said.

Joseph Beatty, now 61, who at one point shared a romantic relationship with Beaton, was convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated rape, according to District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey’s office.

Prosecutors said Beatty’s trial was repeatedly delayed over concerns about his competency and a change of defense counsel, and that he killed Beaton inside her Beach Street apartment on Aug. 29, 2009.

Beatty faces sentencing on Tuesday.

First-degree murder convictions carry a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. Such convictions are reviewed by the state’s highest court.

“I hope that today’s verdict provides some small measure of comfort to the family and friends of Mary Beaton,” Morrissey said in the release. “This was absolutely senseless and created such loss.”

He added that formal sentencing “is tomorrow at 9 a.m. in front of the trial judge, the Hon. Thomas A. Connors, but it is fair to point out that the statutory sentence for first-degree murder in a circumstance like this is life in prison with no eligibility for parole.”

Morrissey also praised the prosecution team that saw the wrenching case to its conclusion.

“Assistant District Attorneys Jennifer Blair and Pamela Alford, working with Victim/Witness Advocate Maureen Russell, worked with great commitment on this case over many years,” he said. “I thank them, the Quincy Police and State Police detectives assigned to the Norfolk DA’s Office for the hard work that led this jury to a just result.”