A Portland man has pleaded not guilty in the stabbing that left a 21-year-old dying along the side of Interstate 295.
Glen Rodney, 58, who faces a murder charge in the death of Julian Nadeau of Portland, entered his plea Wednesday, according to the Portland Press Herald.
Julian Nadeau was walking with friends on Aug. 5 on the path near Tukey’s Bridge, which carries I-295 over the entrance to Back Cove.
Rodney approached them on a bicycle, and an argument broke out, during which Rodney allegedly stabbed Nadeau in the chest, according to ABC affiliate WMTW, which cited a police affidavit.
Before the stabbing Rodney allegedly threatened to kill someone, WMTW reported, citing the police document.
Police found Nadeau in the breakdown lane along the southbound side of the highway about 9:47 p.m. Nadeau was taken to Maine Medical Center but didn’t survive.
Rodney, who had fled on the bicycle and has claimed he was attacked, was arrested without incident just minutes later on Presumpscot Street in the city’s East Deering neighborhood.
His defense attorney, James Howaniec, on Wednesday suggested that Rodney didn’t initiate the conflict. He has asked a judge to grant Rodney bail, while prosecutors have pushed for Rodney to remain at the Cumberland County Jail, characterizing the attack as a “stranger-on-stranger assault,” the Press Herald reported.
Friends who spoke with the Press Herald over the summer described Julian Nadeau, or Juju, as an energetic and goofy person. The night she died she was heading to a colorful graffiti wall under Tukey’s Bridge to hang out with friends and open Pokemon cards, the newspaper reported.
She frequented furry conventions in the area, which her partner, 22-year-old Kasper DeWitt, told the Press Herald was a big part of her life.
“I just want to spread her love and carry that part of her for the rest of my life. I need to channel her energy forever,” DeWitt told the Portland newspaper.