LEWISTON – Brandon Thongsavanh’s lawyer says the state rushed its investigation into the slaying of Morgan McDuffee.
That rush, suggested David Van Dyke, resulted in the wrong person being charged.
He’ll soon have a chance to prove his theory.
Jury selection in Thongsavanh’s second murder trial on charges that he stabbed McDuffee to death on March 3, 2002, begins Monday.
The trial will be held in Cumberland County Superior Court in Portland. The trial was moved there in an effort to find a jury that hasn’t been tainted by pretrial publicity.
“I believe I will show that the state closed its eyes to available evidence,” Van Dyke told the Sun Journal last week.
“I think that you will see a very full development (of the defense’s contention) of the individual who we really believe committed this crime,” he added.
Lisa Marchese, the assistant attorney general who will prosecute Thongsavanh, didn’t return repeated calls to her office seeking comment.
Van Dyke also said he plans to vigorously question potential jurors about their knowledge of the case, as well as their backgrounds.
He said he’ll be looking for jurors who are open-minded and have an ability to apply the law to the case.
About 250 names of Cumberland County people have been drawn for the jury pool. “That’s large,” Van Dyke said of the number.
Thongsavanh was tried and convicted in 2003 of killing McDuffee, a Bates College senior.
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court overruled the guilty verdict on appeal, however, saying jurors were biased by repeated references to a T-shirt that witnesses said Thongsavanh was wearing on the night of the stabbing.
The shirt featured a picture of a naked woman and an obscene reference to Jesus.
Justice Ellen Gorman, who will preside over the trial, ruled last week that Van Dyke and Marchese, who will prosecute the case, can refer to the shirt as “distinctive,” “memorable” or “unique,” rather than telling jurors what was actually on it.
Gorman also limited Marchese’s planned use of photo and video evidence that show Thongsavanh’s horn and thorn tattoos. He has ram’s horns inked onto his head and a necklace of thorns.
He’s allowed his hair to grow to the point where the horns are hidden. In the past, he’s worn turtleneck shirts to cover the thorns.
Van Dyke believes the tattoos could prejudice jurors against his client.
Thongsavanh has been in jail since his arrest in the days following McDuffee’s slaying.
McDuffee, only a few months away from graduation at the time of his death, was described as an outstanding student and athlete who had a beaming smile. He was an economics major and captain of the Bates lacrosse team.
He was killed during a street brawl between a group of Bates students and young men from Lewiston and Auburn.
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