AUBURN — An attorney for Germaine Page, who is accused of trying to kill his former girlfriend, said in the opening day of the trial Monday that Page was attempting to kill himself when he fired a gun during an altercation in June 2021.
Germaine Page, left, of Auburn speaks Monday with defense attorney Jim Howaniec before the start of Page’s attempted murder trial at Androscoggin County Superior Court in Auburn. Andrew Rice/Sun Journal
Page, 43, is accused of attempted murder and five other charges stemming from an altercation with his former girlfriend at a 9th Street apartment.
Page was indicted last year by an Androscoggin County grand jury charging three felony crimes, including attempted murder. If convicted of the latter, he could be sentenced up to 30 years in prison.
During the opening day of the jury trial, the prosecution said the woman had been trying to end the relationship for months. During her testimony Monday, the woman said Page “wouldn’t leave” and he had been violent in the past.
She said that when she returned from a 12-day trip to North Carolina on June 17, 2021, Page was waiting for her. He accused her of having an affair even though she said their relationship had been long over by then.
In her opening statement, Assistant District Attorney Katherine Bozeman said Page became “unhinged” upon the woman’s return. Bozeman said while the woman was traveling back to Maine, Page sent her about 177 text messages.
The prosecution portrayed Page as having planned his alleged crimes. Bozeman said Page had just acquired a handgun a week prior, and during her opening statement, said Page had told neighbors he was going to “smoke that bitch” and then kill himself.
The defense said the altercation wasn’t as one-sided as has been portrayed and the woman’s story has inconsistencies.
“It sounds pretty straightforward,” defense attorney Jim Howaniec said during his opening statement. “But, I can assure you there are two sides to this story.”
According to the prosecution, after being confronted, the woman entered her apartment in order to find her car keys, but the keys weren’t there. That’s when the altercation with Page began.
She was kicked or pushed from behind, and was pinned down by Page’s foot on her chest. Page then pointed a gun at her head, stating she was going to “die tonight,” according to Bozeman.
During her testimony, the woman said Page pulled the trigger but the gun didn’t fire, and she remembers the bullet “fell out of the top of the gun.”
The woman kicked Page in the groin and was able to return to her feet, but Page blocked the apartment door. The prosecution said she was knocked down again, and this time Page stomped on her face twice.
Bozeman said Page then aimed the gun at her again and fired, but missed.
During her testimony, the woman said she remembers seeing the “fire” from the gun going off next to her head.
Asked during her testimony, she said it “wasn’t luck” that the bullet missed her, “it was God.”
She described her escape from an apartment window while she said Page was attempting to reload the gun. Page was unaware, but someone had called 911 during the altercation so Auburn police had already arrived.
During her testimony, the woman said she believes someone who witnessed the initial confrontation with Page outside the apartment had called the police.
After initially hiding from the police, Page was located by authorities later that night after returning to the apartment building and hiding in a closet in a neighboring apartment.
Howaniec said in his opening statement that no one else, including neighbors, saw what happened inside the apartment, and he said Page was trying to kill himself when the shot was fired.
“If Germaine wanted to kill (her), she was a foot away,” he said. “He didn’t attempt to kill her. He attempted to kill himself.”
Bozeman said earlier that Page’s statements to police shifted, and that he also told them he “was just trying to scare her.”
In her testimony, the woman said she had “no doubt in my mind” that Page was trying to shoot her.
The trial is expected to last at least the next three days, with testimony expected from Auburn police.
Each of the other two felonies faced by Page — domestic violence criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and domestic violence reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon — is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Page also is facing three misdemeanor charges in connection with the case.
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