AUBURN – A Canton man accused of killing a pregnant Lewiston woman is expected to stand trial this week.

Jury selection is scheduled for Friday.

Richard Dwyer, 45, faces charges of murder, gross sexual assault and robbery in connection with the fall 2007 slaying of 38-year-old Donna Paradis.

A judge in Androscoggin County Superior Court ruled recently that the state didn’t have to conduct a comparative search of its DNA database for similar genetic profiles.

Dwyer’s attorney, George Hess, filed a motion seeking to have the state’s three DNA database indexes cross-checked for matches.

Justice Thomas Delahanty II wrote Tuesday that the state isn’t required to carry out that task. Instead, Delahanty said Hess could make efforts to impeach the DNA results during the trial through other evidence and could attempt to cast doubt on conclusions drawn by state forensic workers during cross-examination of expert witnesses.

“This court fails to see any basis or sufficient precedent to order the state to conduct such a test or comparison,” Delahanty wrote.

The state has no evidence that connects Dwyer to any of the exhibits, Delahanty wrote. But it does plan to offer proof that several pieces of evidence found in Dwyer’s possession could be linked through DNA to Paradis, he wrote. That means the DNA found on that evidence would be compared to the genetic makeup of Paradis. It would not be compared to the genetic makeup of DNA profiles from unsolved crimes in the state. Nor would it be compared to missing persons and convicted felons in Maine. Those three categories make up the state’s DNA database.

In earlier motions, Delahanty rejected Dwyer’s motion to suppress statements he made to police during two interviews. Hess had argued his client’s constitutional rights had been violated because police had not read him the Miranda warning. Delahanty ruled the statements were admissible because Dwyer had not been in police custody.

Hess also had argued the judge should dismiss the charge of gross sexual assault, citing lack of evidence. That motion also was denied. Hess then tried to have that charge separated from the murder charge. That motion was denied.

The nude body of Paradis, a mother of two and pregnant, was found in a shallow grave in a wooded area behind Promenade Mall on Lisbon Street on Nov. 12. She had been missing about three weeks.

A Maine State Police detective said Paradis had been strangled. There was evidence she had been bound. Her clothes were found, some inside out and stained with semen.

Police viewed surveillance cameras from two local stores where Dwyer reportedly bought a shovel and a pickax, using a $100 bill at one of the stores. Paradis reportedly cashed a $400 money order to buy a car, according to court records.

Police said Dwyer had promised to help her buy a car and told her she needed $400. The two worked together at Affiliated Computer Services, across the street from where Paradis’ body was found.