PORTLAND — Marion Shea was defending herself as her boyfriend stabbed her repeatedly last November, the state’s chief medical examiner testified today at the murder trial of William Hanaman.
Dr. Margaret Greenwald said Shea was stabbed once in the chest, twice in the abdomen, twice in the area of her left hip, once in her left thigh, once in her left buttock and once in her left arm above the elbow.
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“I’ll refer to those as defensive-type wounds,” Greenwald said of the injuries to the left side of Shea’s body.
“They occur typically when the victim is trying to shield themselves from the weapon.”
But on cross-examination, Hanaman’s defense lawyer focused on the most damaging wound – the deep stabbing of the chest that punctured Shea’s left lung. Levine suggested that happened as Shea was attacking Hanaman with the knife, and he caught the blow and redirected it at Shea’s chest.
Looking at the track of the wound, Greenwald said that scenario was possible, but unlikely.
The trial opened Tuesday and the prosecution is expected to continue calling witnesses this afternoon at Cumberland County Superior Court.
10 a.m.
PORTLAND — Witnesses for the state will take the stand today in Cumberland County Superior Court, as the second day commences in the murder trial of William Hanaman.
Prosecutors say the evidence will show that Hanaman, 52, murdered Marion Shea on the night of Nov. 10, 2009, by stabbing her eight times with a kitchen knife, and a suicide note he wrote is further proof of his guilt.
Hanaman’s lawyer says his client stabbed Shea only after she came at him with the knife, and he reasonably believed that his life was in jeopardy.
Jurors will have to decide which story to believe, and whether Hanaman should be convicted of murder, a crime that carries a penalty of 25 years to life in prison. Hanaman has been held without bail in the Cumberland County Jail since his arrest.
Shea, 47, had five children. She lived with a son in Gorham, but in the year leading up to her death she spent weeks at a time living with Hanaman at his apartment. Shea and Hanaman had known each other for about 30 years, but didn’t start dating until 2008.
Assistant Attorney General Leane Zainea Tuesday said the self-defense claim doesn’t pass the common-sense test. She said Shea died from stab wounds to her chest, abdomen, arm and buttocks, and the back of her legs. The cuts showed that Shea was trying to defend herself and get away from Hanaman, Zainea said.
After the stabbing, Hanaman put bloody clothing in a closet, put the knife in the sink and packed some personal mementos in a box. He called a cab and took the box to his sister’s house around 11 p.m., Zainea said. Then Hanaman returned to his apartment and attempted to commit suicide.
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