BANGOR, Maine — A jury of nine men and seven women, including four alternates, was selected Thursday afternoon at the Penobscot Judicial Center to hear evidence in the trial of a man accused of using Facebook to lure 15-year-old Nichole Cable to her death nearly two years ago.
Kyle Dube, 21, of Orono has pleaded not guilty to one count each of kidnapping and murder in the May 12, 2013, death of the Old Town High School student. Dube created a phony page on the online social network using the identity of another man, Bryan Butterfield, to convince Cable to leave her Glenburn home and meet him, according to the prosecution.
The trial is set to begin Monday, Feb. 23, and last two weeks.
Superior Court Justice Ann Murray warned jurors on Thursday not to expose themselves to media coverage of the upcoming trial. She also told them not to discuss or research the case and to turn off any applications on their cellphones that deliver local news to them.
Although Murray has not yet ruled on a defense motion to move the trial to another county because of pretrial publicity, the fact that she was able to seat a jury makes it moot.
The judge will hold a hearing Friday on pending pretrial motions, including a defense motion seeking to name Dube’s girlfriend at the time of Cable’s death as an alternative suspect. She is listed as a potential witness for the prosecution.
The Bangor Daily News is not naming the young woman because she has not been charged with a crime in connection with Cable’s death and has not testified in court.
Dube’s attorneys, Stephen Smith of Augusta and Wendy Hatch of Bangor, declined to comment Wednesday and Thursday on their alternative suspect defense strategy and on jury selection.
Assistant Attorneys General Leane Zainea and Donald Macomber, who are prosecuting the case, also refused to comment. It is the practice of the Maine attorney general’s office not to comment on cases before trial.
Jury selection took two days. A pool of 94 Penobscot County residents was narrowed to 52 after others were dismissed. The reasons jurors are dismissed are not made public but could range from scheduling conflicts to a medical problem to being a friend or relative of a witness to having already formed an opinion about Dube’s guilt or innocence.
The pool of 52 was narrowed to 40 potential jurors when the clerk did a random drawing of the numbers they were assigned last week. Lawyers on each side were able to use pre-emptive strikes to eliminate jurors for any reason to reach the final 16. Who is an alternate most likely won’t be made public until and unless a juror needs to be replaced or the alternates are dismissed just before deliberations begin.
Questioning of potential jurors Wednesday and Thursday was conducted at a table in the large second-floor courtroom in hushed tones. Most of the time, reporters covering jury selection could not hear the questions jurors were asked, their answers or attorneys’ discussions about which jurors should be dismissed from the pool and why.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in January 2010 that individual questioning of jurors must be open to the public. It did not specifically say that the public had to be able to hear what was being said.
Last week, it was revealed in court that Dube had been offered but declined a plea agreement. The details of that agreement were not discussed.
Attorneys on both sides have refused to comment on the matter.
Plea negotiations are common. Because of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, a judge must ask a defendant if he or she was offered a deal before going to trial.
Also last week, Murray denied the defense team’s motions to suppress statements Dube made to investigators on May 16, 2013, and to Penobscot County Jail personnel when he self-reported to begin serving a sentence on a driving conviction. Murray said neither the police nor jail personnel violated Dube’s rights.
If Dube is convicted of murder, he faces between 25 years and life in prison. He is being held without bail.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence and would like to talk with an advocate, call 866-834-4357, TRS800-787-3224. This free, confidential service is available 24/7 and is accessible from anywhere in Maine.