ROCKLAND, Maine (AP) — A Maine man convicted of killing a 12-year-old girl more than three decades ago launched his latest bid on Thursday for a new trial by trying to convince a judge that advances in DNA testing raise questions about his guilt. The attorney for Dennis Dechaine called his first witness at the start of a two-day hearing in Knox County Superior Court. Dechaine is trying to make the case that tests conducted by a California laboratory excluded his DNA from several items found at the crime scene, requiring a new trial in which jurors could weigh all the evidence. Prosecutors have contended plenty of other evidence links Dechaine to the crime and that his DNA could not be excluded from several other items. Dechaine, 66, is serving a life sentence for the murder and sexual assault of Sarah Cherry, who disappeared while babysitting in Bowdoin in July 1988. Her body was found two days later. |
Bookstore makes reading accessible to rural areas in Inner MongoliaChina: Political settlement only viable way out of Ukraine crisisIndonesian student designs a life in fashionDame Joan Collins looks glamorous in a black satin dress with semiNew York judge rejects Trump's request to delay hush money trialMike Trout is healthy and producing. That hasn't been enough for the Shohei OhtaniLikely missile attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels targets a container ship in the Red SeaTaylor Swift celebrates the success of The Tortured Poets Department with behindSpice Girls star Mel B signs 'sixA Place in the Sun's Jasmine Harman still struggles to talk about her friend and co