PARIS – The defense lawyer for Duane C. Waterman, a 33-year-old Sumner man accused of murdering two people in July of 2008, said Waterman will take the stand in his own defense during his trial.
John Jenness Jr. said during his opening statement Monday that Waterman has maintained his innocence in the shooting deaths of 50-year-old Timothy Mayberry of West Paris and 43-year-old Todd Smith of Paris.
Jenness said Waterman was interviewed by police for four hours after the shootings and did not change his story.
The state’s evidence against Waterman is circumstantial, Jenness said. He said Waterman frequently visited Mayberry’s home, where the murders took place, and a tire impression matching Waterman’s 1993 Jeep Cherokee does not prove that Waterman was at the scene at the time of the murders.
Assistant Attorney General Andrew Benson, the prosecutor in the case, suggested a scenario in which Waterman entered Mayberry’s home between 9:45 p.m. and 10 p.m. on the evening of July 25 and shot Mayberry and Smith in the living room while the two men watched television. Benson said the men were not instantly killed in the shootings, as Mayberry was found a short distance from the residence the next day and Smith was found in the bathroom.

Benson said shell casings at the scene and bullets found in the bodies can be traced to a .380-caliber Llama handgun purchased by Waterman and his wife a month-and-a-half before the murders. He said Waterman was in debt to Mayberry after a botched sale of the prescription drug Oxycontin, and that Waterman was growing increasingly angry over Mayberry’s attempts to collect the money.
The jury in the case viewed Mayberry’s home Monday morning. Evidence will be presented in the case this afternoon.