PORTLAND – The third day of Chad Gurney’s murder trial was cut short Wednesday as the defendant became agitated during testimony in the morning and heavy snow forced the closure of the courthouse at noon.

Gurney, 29, is on trial for the killing of 18-year-old Zoe Sarnacki on May 25, 2009.

His defense team claims he was legally insane when he strangled the former Deering High School student, decapitated her and set fire to her body.

Gurney sat at the defense table next to his lawyers, Robert LeBrasseur and Sarah Churchill, as Detective Scot Bradeen testified Wednesday morning about text messages sent between Gurney and Sarnacki in the days before the killing.

Around 10:30 a.m., Justice Roland Cole called for a recess, noticing that Gurney was becoming agitated.

The lawyers on both sides met with Cole for an extended period, and the marshals told the small group of people who remained in the courtroom that the trial would resume this morning. It already had been announced that the entire Cumberland County Courthouse would close at noon Wednesday.

“(Gurney) is on a number of medications. There was a change in the medication schedule at the jail,” Churchill said after meeting with the judge. “Because of that, it was in everybody’s best interest to be done for the day.”

Churchill and LeBrasseur said they expect the trial to resume as planned this morning.

“I don’t think it’s any big issue,” Churchill said.

Except for a brief stay in Augusta for testing at the state psychiatric hospital, Gurney has been held without bail in the Cumberland County Jail since his arrest on the morning of May 26, 2009.

Dr. Ann LeBlanc, director of the State Forensic Service, evaluated Gurney before the opening of the trial Monday and told Cole that Gurney was mentally competent to proceed with the trial.

But LeBlanc did say that Gurney gets tired faster than most people, due to the lingering effects of a brain injury he suffered in a van crash in 2005. LeBlanc said Gurney is being treated at the jail with several drugs, including antipsychotic medications and mood stabilizers.

The lead prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese, said the state could finish presenting its case as early as this afternoon. Then, it would be the defense’s turn to call witnesses.

The case may come down to the opinions of the psychologists and psychiatrists who evaluated Gurney in the weeks and months after the killing.

Doctors with the State Forensic Service are expected to testify that Gurney, though clearly troubled, was legally sane when he killed Sarnacki. A psychologist for the defense says Gurney was insane. Those witnesses will take the stand next week, Churchill and Marchese said.

Gurney has waived his right to a jury, so it will be up to Cole to decide whether Gurney is guilty of murder or not criminally responsible by reason of insanity.

If he is found guilty, Gurney will face a minimum of 25 years and a maximum of life in prison.

If Cole finds him not criminally responsible, Gurney will be committed to the Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta until he can prove to the court that he is no longer a threat to society.

Staff Writer Trevor Maxwell can be contacted at 791-6451 or at:

tmaxwell@pressherald.com

 

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