Trial and Error

Jul 4, 2010

WARREN — Dennis Dechaine, one of the most notorious prisoners in Maine history, has maintained the same theme in the handful of interviews he has done with various newspapers and television stations since his conviction in 1989.

He claims he did not murder 12-year-old Sarah Cherry.

During an hour-long interview at the prison on March 22, Dechaine firmly stood behind that assertion, and he said he wanted the public to hear once again his thoughts about the case because his motion for a new trial is expected to be heard later this year.

It was his first interview with The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram in 18 years.

“I grew up believing that the justice system was sacrosanct,” Dechaine said. “I grew up believing that it wasn’t flawed. Well, I’m here to tell you that it does make mistakes, and not just to Dennis Dechaine.”

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By Trevor Maxwell 

Staff Writer

Jul 4, 2010

On the day she was kidnapped, Sarah Cherry of Bowdoin went to baby-sit for a local couple whose regular sitter had backed out.

It was the 12-year-old’s second baby-sitting job, and her first time watching a baby. But John and Jennifer Henkel did not have reservations about hiring Sarah. She was known in town as a mature, good-natured and athletic kid who was looking forward to starting junior high school that fall.

It was July 6, 1988, and a heat wave had settled over Maine, bringing temperatures close to 90 degrees.

According to court records, Jennifer Henkel checked in on Sarah by phone around noon. The girl was feeding the baby and preparing hot dogs for herself.
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Staff Writer Trevor Maxwell can be contacted at 791-6451 or at:

Jul 4, 2010

The judge assigned to hear the latest motion for a new trial for Dennis Dechaine is no stranger to the case.

Superior Court Justice Carl O. Bradford oversaw the March 1989 trial. After the jury convicted Dechaine of the murder of 12-year-old Sarah Cherry, Bradford sentenced the 31-year-old farmer to life in prison.

Maine has no death penalty.

Under the legislation that paved the way for Dechaine’s latest legal effort, the matter must be heard by the original trial judge if he or she is still available to preside.

Apr 23, 2010

The Department of Corrections is still investigating the medical emergency two weeks ago.

By Trevor Maxwell 
Staff Writer

Dennis Dechaine is back in the Maine State Prison, after staying at a Portland hospital for more than two weeks with an undisclosed medical condition.

 Select images available for purchase in the Maine Today Photo Store

Corrections Commissioner Martin Magnusson said Thursday that Dechaine was transported to the prison in Warren sometime in the past few days.

Apr 22, 2010

http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/dechaine-back-in-prison-after-2-week-hospital-visit_2010-04-22.html Posted: 12:00 AM

PORTLAND — Dennis Dechaine is back in the Maine State Prison after staying at a Portland hospital for more than two weeks with an undisclosed medical condition.

Corrections Commissioner Martin Magnusson said Thursday that Dechaine was transported to the prison in Warren sometime in the past few days.

He would not say whether Dechaine has been returned to his regular housing unit, or if he is staying in the prison infirmary or another special unit.

Dechaine, 52, is one of the state’s best-known prisoners. He is serving a life sentence for the kidnapping and murder of 12-year-old Sarah Cherry in Bowdoin in 1988. He maintains that he is innocent.

Apr 7, 2010

Don Dechaine says he isn’t sure what caused the well-known prisoner’s heart rate and blood pressure to drop on Monday.

PORTLAND — A brother of Dennis Dechaine said Thursday that the well-known prisoner continues to recover at Maine Medical Center, after being found near death Monday morning in his cell at the Maine State Prison in Warren.

Don Dechaine of Madawaska said he intends to visit his brother at Maine Med today. He will be the first family member to see Dennis Dechaine since the emergency.

Don Dechaine said he doesn’t know what caused his brother’s heart rate and blood pressure to plummet.

Apr 7, 2010

Bangor Daily News
Dechaine treated for undisclosed illness
By The Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO Convicted murderer Dennis Dechaine stands by a window in a conference room at the Maine State Prison in Warren, Maine, April 6, 2005. Dechaine was hospitalized for an undisclosed illness.

Apr 4, 2010

Portland Press Herald

By Trevor Maxwell 
Staff Writer

Dennis Dechaine, the one-time farmer from Bowdoinham who is serving a life sentence for the murder of a 12-year-old girl in 1988, has been hospitalized for treatment of an undisclosed medical condition.

Dennis Dechaine

File photo 

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Maine Today Photo Store

Apr 4, 2010

http://www.kjonline.com/opinion/letters/_massive-loophole_-exists-in-freedom-of-access-act_2010-04-02.html

Kennebec Journal

A glaring omission in Judith Meyer’s rosy account of the status of Maine’s Freedom of Access Act (March 30) was the Maine Supreme Court’s divided 2008 ruling regarding then-Attorney General Steve Rowe’s Dechaine commission.

The commission was created and charged in its task by the attorney general, it used state facilities and employees and its findings were announced by the attorney general. In spite of those facts, however, the court ruled that the commission’s records were closed to public scrutiny. Meyer’s own newspaper (Lewiston’s Sun Journal) was highly critical of this decision.

Mar 3, 2010

Lincoln County News
By Lucy L. Martin

Two nationally acclaimed forensic pathologists challenge conclusions that helped convict Dennis Dechaine of the 1988 murder of a 12-year-old Bowdoin girl.

Dechaine’s attorney, Steve Peterson, of Rockport, said this week Dr. Cyril Wecht and Dr. Walter Hofman reviewed the case. They concluded that when the Bowdoinham farmer came out of the woods July 6, 1988 and was taken into police custody about 9 p.m., Sarah Cherry, who had earlier disappeared from the house where she was babysitting, was still alive.

Feb 25, 2010

http://www.kjonline.com/news/dechaine-lawyers-doubt-time-of-victim_s-death_2010-02-24.html

KENNEBEC JOURNAL

25 February 2010

They claim the young girl died after he was in custody

BY TREVOR MAXWELL, Portland Press Herald

Lawyers for Dennis Dechaine said Wednesday that two renowned forensic pathologists have provided opinions that could help Dechaine get a new trial in the murder of a 12-year-old girl more than two decades ago.

Feb 25, 2010

Lawyers for the convicted killer say new opinions on the time of death back his bid for a new trial.

Lawyers for Dennis Dechaine said Wednesday that two renowned forensic pathologists have provided opinions that could help Dechaine get a new trial in the murder of a 12-year-old girl more than two decades ago.

Dr. Cyril Wecht and Dr. Walter Hofman reviewed the case at the request of Steve Peterson, a Rockport lawyer, and F. Lee Bailey, the famed defense attorney who is a consultant to Dechaine.

In their opinions, Wecht and Hofman agreed that Sarah Cherry likely died several hours after Dechaine emerged from the woods in Bowdoinham and was taken into police custody. Dechaine, 52, is serving a life sentence for Cherry’s kidnapping and murder in 1988.

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By Trevor Maxwell 
Staff Writer