PARIS – A Sumner man accused of murdering two men last summer in West Paris will take the stand at his trial in Oxford County Superior Court, his attorney said Monday in opening statements.

Duane Christopher Waterman, 33, is charged in the shooting deaths of 50-year-old Timothy Mayberry of West Paris and 43-year-old Todd Smith of Paris. Their bodies were found on the evening of July 26 at Mayberry’s home at 89 Tuelltown Road.

Defense attorney John Jenness Jr. said evidence that implicates Waterman in the homicides is circumstantial.

“There is nothing, I suggest to you, to tie Chris Waterman to these crimes,” Jenness told the jury.

Assistant Attorney General Andrew Benson accused Waterman of “executing” Mayberry and Smith on the evening of July 25. Benson suggested that Waterman surreptitiously approached Mayberry’s house, cut the phone lines outside, then entered the house and shot the men with a .380-caliber Llama handgun.

“It boils down to drugs,” Benson said. “The sad truth of the matter is Tim Mayberry was dealing in illegal drugs.”

Benson said Waterman and his family stayed with Mayberry for a week in late June last year when there was no electricity at their home. He said Mayberry gave Waterman and his wife a supply of OxyContin to sell, but the couple were addicted to the painkiller and used it themselves, then made up a story that the buyer refused to pay.

Benson said Smith was not involved in the conflict between Mayberry and Waterman and was visiting Mayberry on the night both men were killed.

“Todd Smith had simply gone to hang out and watch TV,” Benson said.

He said the physical evidence the state will introduce includes shell casings and bullets found at the crime scene that can be linked to a handgun purchased by the Watermans a month-and-a-half prior to the killings.

Jenness said there were no direct witnesses to the killings and Waterman was charged because of his relationship with Mayberry.

Prior to the statements, the jury was taken to Mayberry’s home to view the scene to better understand upcoming testimony.

David Andrews of Paris testified Monday that his wife spotted Mayberry’s body lying on a stone wall while the couple was driving home from Sumner on July 26.

Trooper Gregory Tirado of the Maine State Police said he and two deputies from the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office did a sweep of Mayberry’s home after Andrews called 911, and discovered Smith’s body in the bathroom.

Tirado also testified there were notable “peel-out” tracks on the gravel driveway, along with a distinct tire tread impression.

State police Detective Michael Zabarsky said investigators found a loaded 20-gauge shotgun and an inoperable .30-30 rifle in the living room. A bandoleer of 20-gauge shells was found in a hallway near a table and lamp that had been knocked over.

Zabarsky said police also discovered three .380-caliber shell casings in the living room, cut phone lines on the outside of the house, and bloodstains in the kitchen and living room.

Under cross-examination, Zabarsky said a torn-up area in the gravel driveway that may have been caused by spinning tires was higher up the incline than the tire impression. Jenness said a vehicle leaving the driveway may have had to spin its tires and then stop to create the layout. Zabarsky said such a pattern may have been created if a vehicle started from a stationary position and briefly spun its tires.