BANGOR — Lawyers on both sides of the Rory Holland double murder trial laid out their strategies to a Penobscot County jury panel this morning on the opening day of testimony.
Holland, 56, is accused of killing 19-year-old Gage Greene and 21-year-old Derek Greene at 1 a.m. June 30, 2009, outside Holland’s home on South Street in Biddeford.
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“He armed himself with a loaded gun and stood in front of his house at one o clock in the morning,” Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese told jurors. She said Holland was not in fear of his life and suggested that Holland was waiting for the young men to come by.
But Holland claims he was defending himself when he shot the two men. One of Holland’s attorneys, Clifford Strike, took swift aim at the state’s first witness, 20-year-old Kurtis White.
White, who was best friends with the men and witnessed the shooting, said he saw Holland lean into Gage Greene, who then put up his hands and pushed Holland back.
White said Holland then whipped out the handgun and fired directly into Gage Greene’s chest. He then shot Derek Greene three times as he ran across the street toward his brother’s body and Holland.
Strike pointed to numerous inconsistencies between White’s testimony today and statements he made to police right after the shooting.
White repeatedly admitted he had been drinking at the time of the shooting and was drunk when he gave police the interview.
“I don’t remember this interview at all,” White said on the stand. “I was drunk.”
Holland, dressed in a dark blazer and a pastel print tie, sat with Strike and another attorney, Amanda Doherty, as the testimony unfolded.
Several members of the victims’ family wept quietly and dabbed at their eyes with tissues as Marchese showed the courtroom pictures of the crime scene, including Gage Greene’s shirt, which was left behind on the side of the road where he was shot down.
Testimony is continuing this afternoon. Prosecutors say the trial could last two weeks.
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