PARIS — Eight women and seven men, none under the age of 30, were selected Wednesday in Oxford County Superior Court to hear the trial of a 21-year-old West Paris woman charged with vehicular manslaughter.

Kristina Lowe is charged in the deaths of Rebecca Mason, 16, and Logan Dam, 19, who died Jan. 7, 2012, in a single-vehicle crash in West Paris. Police say Lowe was drunk when she crashed into a stand of trees on Route 219, killing her two back-seat passengers.

Lowe is facing five felony charges, including two charges of vehicular manslaughter, two charges of aggravated criminal operating under the influence and a single charge of leaving the scene of a fatal accident

If convicted of all charges, Lowe faces well over 60 years in jail.

It took most of the day Wednesday to select jurors, including three alternates, from a pool of 107. Each person was asked about possible conflicts they may have with the case or with the alleged actions of the defendant.

In particular, Active-Retired Justice Robert Clifford asked each potential juror whether they were related to Lowe, or to the victims in this case, and whether they had prior knowledge of the case.

Among the jury pool, five people said they either knew Lowe or were related to her, and the same number either knew or were related to one of the victims. Of the five who know Lowe, all said they would not be able to serve as impartial jurors, but two who knew the victims said they believed they could be impartial if selected to serve.

Nineteen of the potential jurors spoke up to say they were acquainted with or worked with witnesses, which number in the dozens. Lowe’s attorney, Jim Howaniec of Lewiston, said a juror-witness relationship is a greater concern to him than whether the potential jurors had any prior knowledge of the case through media reports or from other people in the community.

A number of potential jurors, who noticed co-workers in the jury pool, told the court they would find it difficult to serve if it meant taking a different position on the case than their co-worker. Including, in one instance, serving on the jury with a boss.

Neither the boss nor his employee were selected to serve.

Clifford also asked jurors whether they were members of any anti-teen drinking advocacy group, since evidence of teen drinking will be presented at trial. No one among the potential pool said that would be a factor in their ability to fairly judge Lowe’s actions.

Potential jurors also were questioned about whether they were related to a law enforcement officer, or knew any of the officers named on the witness list. The prosecution has listed more than 17 officers as potential witnesses, including Maine State Police accident reconstruction experts and a number of others who work in the Maine State Police Crime Lab. The defense has listed 20 possible police witnesses, plus a number of chemists who work for the crime lab and agents who work for the Maine Computer Crimes Task Force. The defense also has listed an agent with the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency as a potential witness.

In a light moment that made jurors and attorneys laugh, one juror stood and said she knew one of the potential police witnesses because he had pulled her over so many times, but she didn’t think that would have any impact on her ability to fairly judge the evidence. That juror was selected in the initial round, but was not named to the final jury.

The combined witness lists for the defense and prosecution name 112 people, although many are named on both lists.

Jacob Skaff of South Paris, who was Lowe’s front-seat passenger at the time of the crash and is now 24 years old, will be called as a witness for both the defense and the prosecution. A number of people who attended the party where Lowe, Skaff, Mason and Dam were on the night of the crash also will be called by both sides.

The host of that party, Jesiah Sande, will be called by the defense.

Sande, 38, who was charged with hindering apprehension on the night of the crash after he refused to let police execute a search warrant at his trailer on Yeaton Lane where the party had been held, is Dam’s uncle.

Talking with the Sun Journal during the noon recess, Howaniec said that he and the prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Richard Beauchesne, had agreed not to speak to the media during the course of the trial.

Earlier this year, Howaniec had asked the court to issue a gag order for everyone connected to the case, including family members of the defendant and the victims, but that request was denied.

On Tuesday, Dam’s mother, Deb Sande, said she plans to attend every day of the trial. Mason’s father, Jerrold Mason, has also said he plans to attend.

“We hurt,” Sande said. “Every time this is in the paper, it shreds our hearts.”

Whenever she hears that a young person has been killed, “I cry for their parents,” she said.

Almost 2½ years after her son Logan died, Sande said she still has trouble getting out of bed every day and struggles to work a full week. Her home phone’s voice mailbox won’t take any more messages because it’s full. Her son left a number of messages in the days before his death and Sande said she can’t bear to erase them.

Beauchesne estimated Wednesday that the trial might last five days, which is much shorter than the original three-week estimate.

Beauchesne and Assistant District Attorney Joseph O’Connor are representing the state in this case and, in addition to Howaniec, Lowe is represented by Lewiston attorneys George Hess and Chelsea Peters. In addition, Celeste Daly from Hess’s firm was brought on specifically to help the defense team with jury selection Wednesday.

Opening arguments are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Thursday in Oxford County Superior Court.

jmeyer@sunjournal.com

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