New evidence supports an alternative suspect theory, according to a court motion.
AUBURN – Brandon Thongsavanh’s attorney has new evidence that he believes could have proven his client’s innocence.
Nearly three months after Thongsavanh was convicted of murdering Bates College senior Morgan McDuffee and days before Thongsavanh is scheduled to be sentenced, his lawyer is asking for a new trial.
William Maselli argues in one of three motions filed in court that he has obtained a statement from a 20-year-old woman who claims that Chad Aube told her he stabbed McDuffee, then pinned it on Thongsavanh because he was the most recognizable person near him when it happened.
A construction worker from Auburn, Aube was one of the state’s key witnesses in its case against Thongsavanh.
Aube testified during the trial in February that he was fighting with McDuffee in the early morning hours of March 3, 2002, when Thongsavanh came out of nowhere, grabbed McDuffee and started jabbing his fist in his stomach.
Aube said he thought Thongsavanh was simply punching McDuffee until he heard a girl scream, “He’s been stabbed. He’s bleeding.”
When interviewed by detectives on the morning of the killing, Aube denied seeing anything.
But he returned to the police station later that night to change his story. He told the jurors that his conscience got to him. He also told them he never fights with knives.
Maselli’s motions question the truth of those statements.
According to one motion, a woman named Krystal Paradis claims that she was at a party last fall where Aube confessed to killing McDuffee. Paradis, who is currently in jail for violating probation, recalled Aube telling people that he took out his knife because McDuffee was getting “mouthy,” the motion states.
“The evidence was not available prior to the trial,” Maselli argues in the motion. “But (it) is a substantive confession that Mr. Aube in fact did the stabbing.”
Aube could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
According to court records, Paradis has been convicted of numerous crimes, including assault, criminal trespassing, theft by unauthorized taking and possession of illegal drugs. She was sent to jail Feb. 25 for violating the terms of her probation.
In another motion, Maselli argues that a woman named Patricia Ouellette contacted Thongsavanh after the trial to tell him that Aube pulled out a knife and showed it to her weeks before the killing.
Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese emphasized in her closing arguments at the trial that nobody saw Aube with a knife on the night of the fight.
The woman’s statement, according to Maselli’s motion, contradicts the state’s arguments during the trial that Aube was a street fighter who fought with his fists, not knives.
In a third motion, Maselli asks for a new trial based on his belief that the jury’s verdict was tainted by evidence that should not have been allowed in court.
The evidence includes a mug shot of Thongsavanh in which his shaved head reveals horn tattoos and a videotape of Thongsavanh’s interview with police. In the video, detectives refer to Thongsavanh’s violent history and to the time he spent at the Maine Youth Center.
Maselli argues that Thongsavanh’s right to a fair trial was also violated by some of Marchese’s opening statements and repeated references to a vulgar T-shirt that Thongsavanh was allegedly wearing on the night of the fight.
Justice Ellen Gorman will hear arguments on all three motions before sentencing Thongsavanh Thursday morning.
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