AUBURN — A man who fatally stabbed his wife in front of their daughter in 1979 committed a similar atrocity nearly four decades later when, at age 76, he stabbed woman 11 times in front of her twins outside a laundromat in Lewiston, a prosecutor told jurors Monday.

There’s video of Albert Flick buying the knives two days before the assault, along with surveillance video showing him attacking the victim, Assistant Attorney General Bud Ellis told jurors. After the assault, a bystander held Flick on the ground until police arrived.

Three witnesses who knew the victim, Kimberly Dobbie, 48, testified Flick had become infatuated with her and followed her around town before the attack.

Flick, now 77, is using an insanity defense during his murder trial in Androscoggin County Superior Court. His attorney, Allan Lobozzo, urged jurors to keep an open mind as they hear evidence, telling them it’s “easy to jump to conclusions.”

Flick has a long history of violence against women and was sentenced to prison for stabbing his wife 14 times in front of their child in 1979.

A judge who sentenced him for assaulting another woman in 2010 said Flick would no longer represent a threat because of age. The judge disregarded the recommendation of the prosecutor and probation officer for a longer sentence, and Flick was released in 2014.

“At some point Mr. Flick is going to age out of his capacity to engage in this conduct, and incarcerating him beyond the time that he ages out doesn’t seem to me to make good sense from a criminological or fiscal perspective,” the judge said.

Dobbie had recently moved to Lewiston and was living in a homeless shelter with her 11-year-old boys.

Ellis told jurors that Flick hid a knife behind his back before stepping forward and attacking Dobbie after she’d started a load of laundry. She died later that day at a hospital.

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