The convicted killer’s lawyer will attempt to persuade a judge Friday that his client deserves another chance.
By Lisa Chmelecki
Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Nearly four months after Brandon Thongsavanh was sentenced to prison for killing Bates College senior Morgan McDuffee, he will be back in court to ask for a new trial.

This Friday, Thongsavanh’s attorney, William Maselli, will argue three motions before Justice Ellen Gorman, outlining reasons why he believes Thongsavanh’s guilty verdict should be thrown out.

A 20-year-old father of two who grew up in Auburn, Thongsavanh was convicted in February of killing McDuffee during a drunken brawl last year.

Thongsavanh is serving a 58-year sentence at the Maine Correctional Center.

In one motion requesting a new trial, Maselli argues that he has obtained a statement from a 20-year-old woman who claims that another man told her he stabbed McDuffee, then pinned it on Thongsavanh because he was the most recognizable person nearby when it happened.

The man, Chad 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.

But Krystal Paradis claims that she was at a party last fall when Aube confessed to killing McDuffee. Paradis recalled Aube telling people that he took out his knife because McDuffee was getting “mouthy,” the motion states.

Aube is currently serving nine months in prison for assaulting two police officers and refusing to submit to arrest during a separate incident.

In another motion, Maselli states 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.

Ouellette’s statement contradicts the state’s repeated claim that Aube had a reputation for fighting with his fists, not knives, Maselli says in his motion.

Maselli argues in his third motion 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 the state prosecutor’s opening statements and repeated references to a vulgar T-shirt that Thongsavanh was allegedly wearing on the night of the fight.

Maselli and Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese will argue all three motions before Justice Gorman Friday morning.

If Gorman denies the motions, Masselli has one last resort.

In addition to asking the Superior Court for a new trial, he appealed the verdict and the sentence to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. The state’s highest court has already ruled that the sentence is appropriate for the conviction, but it hasn’t issued a decision on the verdict.

lchmelecki@sunjournal.com

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