BANGOR — The judge presiding over the jury trial of a man accused of using Facebook to lure 15-year-old Nichole Cable to her death nearly two years ago held a hearing Friday on pretrial motions, including one to allow the defense to name an alternative suspect, but did not rule on them.

Kyle Dube, 21, of Orono has pleaded not guilty to one count each of kidnapping and murder in the May 12, 2013, death of the Old Town High School student. Dube created a phony page on the online social network using the identity of another man, Bryan Butterfield, to convince Cable to leave her Glenburn home and meet him, according to the prosecution.

Superior Court Justice Ann Murray is expected to rule next week on the pending motions.

The trial is set to begin Monday, Feb. 23, and last two weeks.

A jury of nine men and seven women, including four alternates, was seated Thursday.

The defense team wants to name Dube’s then-16-year-old girlfriend as an alternative suspect at his trial, attorney Stephen Smith of Augusta told Murray at Friday’s hearing. Smith said the teenager had the motive, the means and the opportunity to set up the fake Facebook page in the name of her former boyfriend and to kill Cable.

“She hated Cable and wanted her dead,” Smith told the judge. “She had the opportunity and access to the defendant’s phones, computers and clothing.”

The Bangor Daily News is not naming the young woman because she has not been charged with a crime in connection with Cable’s death and has not testified in court. The girl did not testify at Friday’s hearing.

Assistant Attorney General Leane Zaina, who is prosecuting case, told the judge that the defense had to have “substantial facts on which to rely, more than speculations or conjecture.”

“Motive is not enough, the individual has to have opportunity,” she told the judge. “She was 16 then and had no driver’s license. At the time of the homicide, she was with her mother until about 11 p.m., when she saw the girl walk to Mr. Dube’s truck.”

Smith said that the girl may not have had a driver’s license but was taking driver’s education classes and knew how to operate a motor vehicle.

Co-defense counsel Wendy Hatch of Bangor said they also would call a witness at trial who would testify that the girl was “very upset” about being called to testify before the Penobscot County grand jury that indicted Dube about two weeks after Cable died. Hatch said the witness also would testify that Dube’s then-girlfriend was concerned that prosecutors would “turn the case on her.”

Dube was questioned at least twice by investigators but never confessed to killing Cable, according to court documents.

The defendant’s former girlfriend is listed as a witness for the prosecution.

In a separate motion considered Friday, the defense sought to exclude the testimony of an inmate at the Maine State Prison in Warren. Scott Ford allegedly gave legal advice to Dube, while the latter was being boarded at the prison by the Penobscot County Jail.

Ford, who at first refused to give his name to the judge Friday, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and refused to answer questions about what he might have discussed with Dube. Ford’s attorney, Hunter Tzovarras of Bangor, told Murray his client was concerned he could be charged with obstruction of justice and/or practicing law without a license if he answered questions under oath.

Ford, 45, of Portland is serving a sentence for probation revocation on a burglary charge out of Penobscot County, according to information on the Maine Department of Correction’s website. He is due to be released Jan. 27, 2016.

Last week, it was revealed in court that Dube had been offered but declined a plea agreement. The details of that agreement were not discussed.

Attorneys on both sides have refused to comment on a possible plea deal.

Plea negotiations are common. Because of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, a judge must ask a defendant if he or she was offered a deal before going to trial.

Also last week, Murray denied the defense team’s motions to suppress statements Dube made to investigators on May 16, 2013, and to Penobscot County Jail personnel when he self-reported to begin serving a sentence on a driving conviction. Murray said neither the police nor jail personnel violated Dube’s rights.

If Dube is convicted of murder, he faces between 25 years and life in prison. He is being held without bail.

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