AUBURN – Nine women and five men were chosen as jurors Friday to hear the case against two Lewiston men accused of beating and strangling an 82-year-old man, then using a car to run over his head.
David Lakin and Shaun Tuttle each face murder and kidnapping charges in connection with the death of James McManus.
The man’s body was found March 10, 2003, in the trunk of his Buick.
The joint trial for Lakin, 23, and Tuttle, 22, is scheduled to begin Monday morning with opening statements from their lawyers and Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese.
According to police, each man blames the other for the murder.
They both told police that they drove with McManus to a remote road in Turner early in the morning.
Then, in separate interviews, each claimed to have been passed out inside the car while the other beat and strangled McManus, then ran over his head.
Later, with the body in the trunk, the two men drove back to Lewiston, bought cigarettes at a store and went to a car wash to clean the outside of the Buick, according to Tuttle’s statement to police.
An autopsy revealed that McManus died of severe head trauma.
So far, little information has been revealed about a reason for the killing.
Once a successful salesman, McManus was known to have had sexual relations with younger men and women in the past, according to police records. In some instances, police said, he would pay the younger people for sexual favors.
Nothing has been revealed to indicate that Tuttle or Lakin was involved in that kind or relationship with the elderly man.
McManus’ Buick was the same car used in a heist in January 2003 during which two floor safes were stolen from a burned home in Avon. Lakin was charged in that theft.
Police found McManus’ body after Tuttle called 911 and told them to check the trunk of a car parked on Horton Street.
Lakin and Tuttle were arrested that evening.
Police said both suspects had blood on their clothing when they were first questioned.
Those who knew McManus and his family said there was likely very little money to be stolen. A successful salesman more than a decade ago, McManus had experienced financial ruin shortly after the death of his wife from cancer.
Some acquaintances who no longer live in the area said McManus began loaning money to young people and socializing with them. He lost his house and moved to Old Carriage Estates in Auburn, where he was frequently visited by police investigating reports of loud music, teenage drinking and prostitution.
Soon after that, McManus moved to downtown Lewiston and was living at 18 Blake St. at the time of his death.
Despite opposition from the defense attorneys, the state chose to hold one trial for the two men. In doing so, however, lawyers are barred from mentioning certain statements the two men made implicating each other.
The trial is expected to last all week. If convicted, they face up to life in prison.
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