John Durfee of Alfred, a key witness in the recent murder trial of Jason Twardus, was arrested at a motel in Kennebunk on Thursday and could make his first court appearance today on a charge of eluding police during a high-speed chase last week.

The chase happened on the night of Oct. 13, shortly after Durfee’s wife was found unconscious on a lawn in Eliot. Witnesses told police that they saw his car leaving the area. An arrest warrant for Durfee was issued Oct. 15.

Kennebunk police arrested Durfee just after midnight Thursday after finding his car in the parking lot of the Turnpike Motel, where he was registered as a guest.

Durfee, 66, who faces a felony charge of eluding police, was released from the York County Jail on Thursday night on $5,000 bail. He has not been charged with any crimes against his wife, Nancy Durfee, 60, although Eliot police continue to investigate the bizarre circumstances of Oct. 13.

Around 6 that night, Nancy Durfee was found face down on the lawn in front of 311 Goodwin Road in Eliot. She was not injured, and after she regained consciousness she told police that the last thing she remembered was riding back to Maine from Boston with her husband. She did not remember how she got out of the car, Eliot Police Chief Ted Short said last week.

Witnesses told police that they saw a Chevrolet Equinox going away from Goodwin Road. Police in York spotted the car and chased it several miles into Dover, N.H., where the chase was called off because of traffic congestion and concerns for public safety.

John Durfee also faces criminal charges in Biddeford, in connection with an incident at the cemetery on Elm Street on Sept. 17, two days after he testified in the Twardus trial. He was charged by Biddeford police with possessing marijuana, obstructing government administration and violating the conditions of release. His court date on those allegations is Dec. 22.

Durfee was a controversial figure in the murder trial of Jason Twardus of Rochester, N.H., which began Sept. 13 in York County Superior Court. Twardus’ defense team cast Durfee as the leading alternate suspect in the killing of Kelly Gorham in 2007. On Oct. 1, the jury convicted Twardus, Gorham’s ex-fiance.

John and Nancy Durfee were Gorham’s landlords at their property in Alfred in the summer of 2007.

John Durfee and another man, Calvin DeGreenia, testified that they had dinner and drinks with Gorham on the night before she disappeared. On the stand, Durfee admitted a decades-long addiction to PCP, a hallucinogenic drug known as angel dust.

He had no clear memory of August 2007 when he testified, but he vehemently denied any involvement in the crime. His wife stood by her husband, saying that any suspicion of him was unfounded.

After the trial, the jury foreman said jurors considered Durfee and DeGreenia to be legitimate alternate suspects but decided that the evidence pointed solely to Twardus.

 

Staff Writer Trevor Maxwell can be contacted at 791-6451 or at: tmaxwell@pressherald.com

 

Staff Writer David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at: dhench@pressherald.com

 

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