By Doug Fletcher,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Jurors deciding suspect Brandon Thongsavanh’s fate got a look Wednesday morning at the area where Morgan McDuffee was stabbed to death.

Led by Androscoggin County Superior Court Officer Peter McGray, the nine men and five women who began hearing the case Tuesday spent more than 20 minutes viewing a section of Main Street between Frye and Mountain streets.

Jurors could ask no questions, and the tour intentionally lacked any description of what allegedly happened at various locations, in anticipation of the contentious court fight to come.

Thongsavanh did not attend the viewing. The contingent of jurors was followed by Superior Court Justice Ellen Gorman, who is presiding over the trial; defense lawyer David Van Dyke; and prosecutor Lisa Marchese, an assistant attorney general. Two other court officers brought up the rear, with two Maine State Police detectives who investigated the slaying.

McDuffee, a Bates College senior, his fiancee and his brother were walking along Main Street shortly before 2:30 on the morning of his death when they came across two other Bates students fighting with several young Auburn men. About that same time, witnesses say, Thongsavanh was riding by, told the driver to stop the vehicle, and jumped into the fray.

Jurors appeared thoughtful as they looked over the general crime scene and, at the end of the visit, paused for several minutes to look up Main Street one last time before boarding a bus back to Cumberland County Superior Court to resume the trial.

The visit is meant to give jurors greater context for descriptions they will hear and photos they will be shown during the trial.

Nine Lewiston police officers closed off the portion of Main Street that jurors were looking over, rerouting traffic onto Russell, College and other nearby streets. The closure snarled downtown traffic for nearly a half-hour.