ALFRED — Prosecutors claim Darlene George of Old Orchard Beach plotted her husband’s murder because she did not want to split the properties they owned, and also because he was romantically involved with a co-worker.

That co-worker, 30-year-old Amy Casey of Lebanon, took the stand this morning at the murder trial of George and her brother, Jeffrey Williams.

Casey said she struck up a friendship with Winston George at their workplace, Whatman Inc. in Sanford.

Around May of 2007, Casey said, that friendship turned into something more.

“We had like a boyfriend-girlfriend type of relationship,” Casey told the jury at York County Superior Court.

She said she and George went to dance clubs almost every weekend. They would go to the beach, go out to dinner, and sit in parking lots talking for hours, Casey said.

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In the months before 44-year-old Winston George was killed, she said she had discussed with him her intention to get a divorce. Casey was tearful during the testimony, and took long pauses to compose herself.

“Did you ever tell Winston you loved him?” asked the prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese.

“Yes,” Casey said.

Casey also testified that Darlene George called her cell phone in August of 2007, and the call was answered by Casey’s husband. Casey did not go into details, but she said the call caused problems in her household.

Prosecutors appear to be banking on Casey’s testimony to introduce motive into the murder case against George and Williams. Today is the eighth day of testimony in the trial.

Darlene George called 911 at 5:45 a.m. on June 20, 2008. In that call and in subsequent interviews with investigators, she said three men wearing latex gloves and nylon stockings over their heads ambushed her and her 13-year-old son in their home at 56 Smithwheel Road. George said the men tied them up and then attacked Winston George when he returned home from work sometime after midnight.

Police found George’s body in the basement. He had been strangled with a rope and suffocated with a plastic bag. A rum bottle had been placed in George’s mouth through a small hole in the plastic.

Police and prosecutors say the home invasion was an elaborate ruse, set up by Darlene George and carried out by her lover, Rennie Cassimy, and her brother Jeffrey Williams, both of New York.

Cassimy has already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder. He testified against George and Williams last week.


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