By Lisa Chmelecki,Staff Writer

AUBURN – Roger Keene was convicted Thursday of manslaughter and kidnapping in connection with the September 2003 death of his girlfriend, Leslie Stasulis.

Despite nine hours of deliberations, however, the jury was unable to reach an unanimous decision on a third charge of attempted murder.

The panel of eight men and four women sent a note to Justice Thomas Warren about 3:30 p.m., reiterating an earlier message that they had reached verdicts on two charges but remained deadlocked on the third.

Warren called the jurors into the courtroom and asked each of them whether they thought further deliberations or instructions would result in an agreement.

Eleven of them said no, and one replied, “It is very unlikely, your honor.”

The judge then declared a mistrial on the attempted murder charge, and the clerk asked the jury foreman for verdicts on the other charges.

Keene, 42, showed little reaction when the guilty verdicts were read. He simply lowered his head, then waited for the jail guards to take him back to his cell.

Stasulis’ parents, daughter and husband cried and exchanged hugs. It has been a year and nine months since the 42-year-old mother of five was found bloody and battered in the middle of the eastbound lane of Route 126.

The state called her death a classic case of domestic violence.

She and Keene were having an affair, and Stasulis reportedly told him that she wanted to end it and work things out with her husband.

On the night of Sept. 11, 2003, Keene and Stasulis fought behind Stasulis’ bar, Leslie’s Place, on Lisbon Street. At some point, Keene put Stasulis in the back of his pickup truck and drove down Route 126 in Sabattus.

A man driving west on that road found Stasulis fighting for life early the next morning. She died nine days later of massive head trauma.

By convicting Keene of manslaughter and kidnapping, the jurors agreed with the state that Keene restrained Stasulis against her will. They also believed that he caused her fatal head injuries either by slamming her against the brick wall behind the bar or by causing her to fall from the back of the truck on Route 126.

What the jurors couldn’t agree on is whether Keene tried to cover his tracks and kill Stasulis by placing her in the middle of the road, then leaving with the hope that she would be run over.

“All along we knew that the attempted murder would be difficult to prove,” Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese said after the trial. “It requires getting into a person’s mind and knowing what they were thinking.”

Keene claimed that Stasulis fell from the truck while he was driving her to his house in Litchfield, and that by the time he noticed and went back to get her, she was already being treated by paramedics.

The state now has two options: retry Keene on the attempted murder charge or dismiss it and proceed to sentencing on manslaughter and kidnapping.

Marchese plans to make a decision within a week.

In the meantime, Keene’s lawyer, George Hess, plans to appeal the other two convictions based on mistakes he believes were made during the trial. One mistake, he said, is the fact that a detective mentioned during his testimony that Keene had been on probation.

Hess also believes that one of the jurors was not impartial, based on his relationship with local enforcement officers.

“We’re obviously disappointed that the jury didn’t come around to our way of thinking,” Hess said.

Keene faces up to 30 years in prison for each conviction. A guilty verdict on the attempted murder charge could have added an additional 30 years.

The date of his sentencing will depend on what the state decides to do with that charge.