PORTLAND, Maine — The Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday unanimously upheld the murder conviction of an Ellsworth man serving a 47-year sentence for killing his wife on Christmas Day 2013.
Christopher Saenz, 33, was found guilty of depraved indifference murder in July 2015 after a jury-waived trial at the Penobscot Judicial Center in Bangor.
Defense attorneys Jeffrey Toothaker and Robert Van Horn, both of Ellsworth, argued unsuccessfully before Superior Court Justice Ann Murray that Saenz’s wife suffered from an undiagnosed seizure disorder.
Murray found that Hilary Saenz, 29, died of a subdural hematoma as a result of a blow to the head inflicted by Christopher Saenz.
“The evidence here was more than sufficient for the court rationally to have found beyond a reasonable doubt that Saenz inflicted blunt impact trauma on Hilary’s head that caused the fatal subdural hematoma either directly or by causing a fatal fall,” Chief Justice Leigh I. Saufley wrote for the court. “Contrary to Saenz’s assertions, the state presented competent evidence at trial to demonstrate that it is possible for blunt force trauma, such as a blow to the head, to cause a subdural hematoma.
“Ultimately, the evidence of his relenting and horrific abuse of Hilary over hours and days, including multiple blows to her head resulting in her death, along with his delay in seeking medical assistance, fully support the court’s finding that Saenz killed his wife and that he acted with a depraved indifference to the value of human life in doing so.”
The justices heard oral arguments in the appeal last month in Portland.