AUBURN — Jurors at the upcoming murder trial of a Buckfield man will be allowed to view photos of an infant before and after her death, a judge ruled Friday.

Trevor Averill of Buckfield, charged with the murder of his daughter, appears in 2021 via videoconference in Androscoggin County Superior Court in Auburn, seeking permission to attend a Thanksgiving gathering with his family. Sun Journal screenshot

Androscoggin County Superior Court Justice Jennifer Archer said a photo of the 2-month-old girl taken shortly before she died and autopsy photos of her head are OK for prosecutors to admit as evidence at the trial of the deceased infant’s father, 31-year-old Trevor Averill.

He is charged with depraved indifference murder and manslaughter.

His attorneys filed motions to exclude photos of the baby, claiming they were irrelevant to the case and would be prejudicial if shown to jurors.

Assistant Attorney General Lisa Bogue and defense attorney Verne Paradie sorted through the multiple photos of the victim and agreed on most of them before Paradie presented arguments before Archer in an effort to have the three photos thrown out.

Archer looked at the photos before deciding the photo of the victim when she was alive was relevant to establish her identity as a person.

“While the baby’s very cute, I don’t think that it presents any sort of prejudice that would unduly impact defendant,” Archer said.

Moreover, Archer said, “I don’t find the autopsy photographs to be gruesome. Even if I did … gruesomeness alone does not make photographs inadmissible.”

Bogue said the medical expert she plans to call as a witness is expected to testify, using the autopsy photos to show injuries relevant to the charges.

A motion seeking to exclude from trial statements made to police by the victim’s maternal grandmother will be taken up by the judge at a later date.

Jury selection for the trial is scheduled to start in two weeks, beginning with a jury pool of 55 people. Attorneys will pick a jury of 12, plus three alternates, Archer said.

The trial is expected to last nine days, she said.

Although many medical experts are likely to be called to testify, Archer said she is not inclined to allow jurors to take notes in the courtroom because they may distract from attention to the witnesses.

Averill is free on $25,000 cash bail with conditions, including supervision by Maine Pretrial Service, with whom he must check in, in person, once a week.

Averill pleaded not guilty to the charges in the death of his daughter, Harper Averill, who was born April 30, 2020.

Averill lived on North Parish Road in Turner with his daughter and her mother at the time police allege the incident occurred.

Early on July 22, 2020, the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office responded to that home for a report of a 2-month-old infant in medical distress.

Deputies performed CPR and assisted rescue personnel with the child, who was taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston for treatment but was later taken by LifeFlight of Maine helicopter to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she died from her injuries.

Averill was indicted on the two charges by an Androscoggin County grand jury.

He was arrested a short time later at his Buckfield home, where Averill was living with his deceased daughter’s mother.