AUGUSTA – A Lisbon Falls woman accused of shaking her son to death will stand trial again.

Two weeks after a hung jury forced a mistrial in the state’s first attempt to convict Sarah Allen of manslaughter, the Maine Attorney General’s Office has decided to pursue the charge and hold a second trial.

It is tentatively scheduled for October.

Allen, 30, is accused of killing her 21-month-old son, Nathaniel, by shaking him with so much force on Feb. 14, 2003, that she caused his brain to bleed and swell.

A judge was forced last month to declare a mistrial in the case because the jurors were unable to reach a verdict after hearing two weeks of testimony and deliberating for 18 hours.

The jury’s final vote was 11-1 to find Allen guilty. A unanimous vote would have been necessary for a conviction.

The fact that only one juror believed that Allen should have been acquitted played a major role in the state’s decision to spend the time and money required to retry Allen, said Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese.

“It shows that our evidence was very strong,” Marchese said.

More experts

Allen’s lawyer, Verne Paradie, is looking forward to arguing his case before a new jury.

“I believe that we will be able to more conclusively prove that Nathaniel had a pre-existing condition that caused or contributed to his death,” Paradie said.

The Auburn defense lawyer said he plans to call additional expert witnesses to support his argument that Allen’s son could have had a pre-existing, undetected brain disorder that led to his death.

“The jury’s vote (in the last trial) doesn’t worry me,” Paradie said. “Twelve different people are 12 different people. I truly believe that a jury that listens to all of the evidence will clearly see that there is reasonable doubt.”

When a mistrial is declared as the result of a hung jury, the state has three options: hold another trial, drop the charge or offer a plea bargain.

Marchese and Paradie each confirmed that they hadn’t discussed a plea. However, they both said they would be willing to talk if the other side made the first move.

“I truly believe that this will be a retrial,” Marchese said. “But certainly, if they want to talk about it, we would be willing to talk.”

Paradie said he has no intention of approaching the state to discuss a plea.

“But,” he said, “if they come to me, I’ll always listen.”

Change in venue

Marchese and Paradie have the option of requesting that Allen’s second trial be held in a different county where potential jurors may be less likely to have seen or read media coverage of the case.

The state is still considering whether it wants to request a change in venue, Marchese said.

As for Paradie, he wants the second trial to be held in Androscoggin County. Moving it, he said, would only add to the expenses and overall inconvenience on Allen and her family.

“They’ve already experienced enough hardship,” he said.

Allen isn’t the only person in the family facing criminal charges. Her husband, Jeremy, has been charged with assault for allegedly hitting the couple’s adopted son with a spatula on the night before the boy was rushed to the hospital.

His trial was initially scheduled for May, but it was postponed after lawyers were unable to pick 14 jurors who they believed would be impartial while hearing the case.

It has been rescheduled for Sept. 13.