PORTLAND (AP) – A woman accused in the slaying of a Canadian tourist in Old Orchard Beach is expected to plead guilty.

Angela Humphrey is scheduled to appear in Cumberland County Superior Court on Monday to admit her role in the death of Derek Rogers, who was suffocated with sand after being severely beaten.

Humphrey, 29, pleaded innocent to the charges in August.

Deputy Attorney General William Stokes would not comment on the terms of Angela Humphrey’s plea agreement. “We anticipate a change of plea,” he said. “That’s what we were informed that they planned to do.”

Humphrey’s lawyer, Neale Duffett, confirmed that the plea hearing is planned, but would not discuss the terms.

Humphrey was indicted on charges of murder and perjury. But the charges will likely be reduced in exchange for her guilty plea.

Her brother, Benjamin Humphrey, was originally charged with murder for the same crime but pleaded guilty to manslaughter on July 17.

Murder carries a penalty of 25 years to life in prison. Manslaughter typically carries a sentence of up to 20 years, except in the most heinous cases. Benjamin Humphrey received a 20-year prison sentence with all but five years suspended, followed by six years of probation.

Rogers’ family was told that a deal has been reached.

“I don’t feel that any plea bargain is justice,” said Rogers’ sister, Lorna Simard, of Ottawa, Canada. “However, some accountability is better than no accountability, and an acquittal would be infinitely worse.”

Humphrey, also known as Angela Moore, is currently being held in the Maine Correctional Center in Windham on an unrelated probation violation.

A fisherman found Rogers’ body on the beach in the Ocean Park section of Old Orchard Beach on July 31, 2002. The state Medical Examiner’s Office said he died from choking on sand.

AP-ES-10-31-03 0756EST



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