PARIS — A Sumner man convicted last week of committing two murders last summer will be sentenced on July 10.

Duane Christopher Waterman, 33, faces
between 25 years and life in prison on each count.
A jury found him guilty in the deaths of 50-year-old Timothy Mayberry of West Paris and 43-year-old Todd Smith of Paris last summer. The two men were shot to death on July 25, 2008, at Mayberry’s residence at 89 Tuelltown Road.
Jurors delivered their verdict after a day of deliberations and following six days of testimony in Oxford County Superior Court. During the trial, witnesses said Waterman and his wife were in debt to Mayberry after failing to sell Oxycontin pills. Maine State Police detectives said they had determined that Waterman had bought a .380-caliber handgun in the months prior to the murders, and that shell casings at Mayberry’s home matched those found at the home of a previous owner of the gun.
The state also played several recorded phone calls that Waterman made to his wife while she was incarcerated at the Oxford County Jail. In the calls, Waterman made threatening statements about Mayberry’s attempts to collect the debt and suspicion that Waterman’s wife would reveal information to the police as a way of reducing her sentence.
Waterman said he owed $1,500 to Mayberry at the time of his death. He said that he was fishing with his children on the evening of July 25, 2008, and went to Mayberry’s house the next morning to check on him. Waterman said he noticed bloodstains in the house but did not call police because he was afraid he would be implicated in the matter or charged with lesser crimes.
Assistant Attorney General Andrew Benson said there were too many links between Waterman and the circumstances of the crime for him to not be involved.

Defense lawyer John Jenness Jr. said there was no conclusive evidence linking Waterman to the murders and that the state had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
mlangeveld@sunjournal.com