PARIS — The prosecutor in the case of a Sumner man convicted of killing two men in West Paris last summer is asking for a life sentence.

In his 11-page sentencing memorandum, Assistant Attorney General Andrew Benson asks that Duane Christopher Waterman, 33, be given two concurrent life sentences. Waterman was found guilty at a jury trial of the murders of Timothy Mayberry, 50, of West Paris and Todd Smith, 43, of Paris. The two men were shot to death at Mayberry’s residence on July 25, 2008.

Waterman’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday at Oxford County Superior Court. He faces 25 years to life in prison on each charge.

Benson argues in his sentencing memo that Mayberry’s murder was premeditated, and that Waterman only decided to kill Smith when he found him at Mayberry’s house. He says Smith was unrelated to the dispute between Mayberry and Waterman and had gone over to Mayberry’s house to watch television.

According to state law, a life sentence may be requested if at least one of seven factors, including premeditation and the intent to cause multiple deaths, is present.

Benson said Mayberry’s murder “is one for pecuniary gain or arising out of pecuniary motives.” Mayberry had told Waterman that he was in debt to other people who might attack Waterman if he did not repay the money he owed Mayberry. Benson said such a motive was previously punishable by a mandatory life sentence under state law.

In addition, Benson listed the use of a firearm in the murders; the effect of the murders on Mayberry and Smith’s families; the murder of Smith as a way to silence a witness; Waterman’s “palpable lack of remorse in connection with these homicides;” and Waterman’s criminal history as aggravating factors.

Waterman was convicted of burglary and theft in 1996 and possession of a firearm by a felon in 2002.

“[Waterman] has shown absolutely no remorse for what he has done and perjured himself in his defense,” Benson argues. “He has a felony criminal record and his antisocial thinking make it chillingly likely that he will re-offend in the future.”

Benson asks that Waterman be ordered to reimburse the state victim compensation fund by $8,594.20 to cover the cost of the funerals of Mayberry and Smith.

In explaining motive, Benson said Waterman was being pressured by Mayberry to repay money lost in a failed sale of the painkiller OxyContin in Machias. Benson argued that Waterman was under increasing stress because he was raising his three children on his own following the incarceration of his wife, Naomi, and because Mayberry was saying that Naomi might give information to police to receive a more lenient sentence.

During the trial, Benson said shell casings found at Mayberry’s residence were found to have been fired by a .380-caliber pistol purchased by the Watermans in the months prior to the murders. The weapon was never recovered by investigators. Benson also said Duane Waterman, in phone calls to his wife, was becoming increasingly threatening toward Mayberry. Waterman’s calls were recorded by the jail’s inmate phone system.

Waterman took the stand on the last day of his trial and testified that he had been fishing with his children on the evening of July 25 until early on July 26. He said he entered Mayberry’s house the next day to check on him but left after seeing blood stains. Waterman said he sold the pistol to Mayberry shortly after purchasing it as a way of paying off some of his debt.

Defense lawyer John Jenness Jr. has filed a motion for either an acquittal or a new trial, which states that a jury could not have avoided concluding that there was a reasonable doubt of Waterman’s guilt and that the evidence was insufficient to prove his guilt.

mlangeveld@sunjournal.com

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