BANGOR, Maine — The daughter and son of a man accused of killing his wife on Christmas Day 2013 in their Ellsworth home testified Monday that they saw Christopher M. Saenz assault their mother at least twice in the days leading up to her death.
Alyana Saenz, 13, and Christopher Saenz Jr., 9, testified on the first day of their father’s jury-waived trial at the Penobscot Judicial Center. The children, who now live with their maternal grandfather in Bowdoin, tearfully recalled their parents arguing repeatedly between Dec. 23 and 25, 2013.
Christopher Saenz, 32, allegedly beat Hilary Saenz, 29, to death on Christmas Day in their Central Street apartment in Ellsworth while their two children, then 12 and 8 years old, were present in the home.
He is charged with intentional or knowing murder and, in the alternative, depraved indifference murder in the death of his wife. Christopher Saenz has pleaded not guilty.
Alyana Saenz said that in December 2013, her parents argued repeatedly about phone numbers and text messages on Hilary Saenz’s phone. The girl said her father called her mother a “whore” and other names when they fought.
Her brother testified that on Dec. 23 he saw his father punch his mother in the forehead during a power outage. His sister was not home and staying at a friend’s house, the boy testified.
Christopher Saenz Jr. told the judge that his parents stopped fighting after his mother told his father to “stop hurting her.” After that, the boy said, they all got into his parents’ bed and “snuggled to stay warm.” He also said his mother had black eyes on Christmas Day.
Under cross-examination, Alyana Saenz, who returned home on Christmas Eve Day, said she did not see or hear her father strike her mother, but she did see him “pin her to the couch” in the middle of the night late Christmas Eve or in the early morning hours of Dec. 25. She also testified that in the afternoon on Christmas Day, her father sent her and her brother to a neighbor’s because their mother “had passed out.” He later came to the neighbor’s house to tell them he’d called an ambulance.
The girl, who at one point broke down in sobs, said she and her brother learned later that afternoon that their mother had died.
Her father became emotional and put his head in his hands as his daughter wept.
Hilary Saenz was employed by Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor and at the Wal-Mart in Ellsworth at the time of her death, Assistant Attorney General Deb Cashman, who is prosecuting the case, said in her opening statement. Christopher Saenz worked occasionally as a carpenter, she said.
“Hilary spent all her time being a wife, mother and providing for her family,” Cashman told Justice Ann Murray.
She failed to show up for her scheduled shifts at either job on Dec. 23 or 24, the prosecutor said.
The autopsy showed that Hilary Saenz had more than 50 bruises in different stages of healing on her body, the prosecutor said. Her sternum was fractured, her liver lacerated and her lungs bruised, but she died of a brain hemorrhage.
Cashman said that Christopher Saenz killed his wife out of “jealousy and rage because he believed she was cheating on him.”
The prosecutor also said that the defendant called his mother seven times before calling 911 at 2:47 p.m. Dec. 25.
Saenz’s defense attorney, Jeffrey Toothaker of Ellsworth, said that a prior traumatic head injury Hilary Saenz suffered in a 2003 car crash played a role in her death.
“She died because of bleeding in her brain,” he told the judge.
Toothaker urged Murray to focus on the brain bleed, not the bruises.
Christopher Saenz told police his wife had a seizure, according to previously published reports.
The emergency medical technician and a paramedic who answered the 911 call both testified that Hilary Saenz was unresponsive when they arrived at 2:52 p.m. Dec. 25. After more than 30 minutes of administering CPR, they pronounced her dead about 3:30 p.m.
EMT Jennifer Cassidy and paramedic Jonathan McQuarry both said they saw bruises on the victim’s chest and arms. Neither mentioned the victim having black eyes.
The trial is scheduled to last two weeks. Neighbors of the family are expected to testify Tuesday.
Murray is expected to issue a written verdict this summer.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence and would like to talk with an advocate, call 866-834-4357, TRS 800-787-3224. This free, confidential service is available 24/7 and is accessible from anywhere in Maine.
BDN writer Bill Trotter contributed to this report.