ALFRED — Defense attorneys for Jason Twardus, who was convicted on Oct. 1, 2010 of the murder of his former fiancée, Kelly Gorham, have initiated proceedings in the quest for a new trial based on what they claim are new pieces of evidence.
Gorham’s remains were found by police in Stewartstown, N.H. on Labor Day weekend 2007.
At York County Superior Court in Alfred on Thursday, Twardus’ defense team, lead by attorney Dan Lilly, called several witnesses to the stand in a request for retrial. In an attempt to deflect the blame for Gorham’s death, the defense’s key witnesses included John and Nancy Durfee, from whom Gorham had rented an apartment.
The Durfees have encountered legal troubles of their own, as they were both arrested last month by agents from the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency on charges of misdemeanor possession of 4.4 grams of PCP, or angel dust. Additionally, John Durfee, 67, was charged by drug agents with importing the drug and eluding a police officer, both felonies, according to MDEA supervisor Stephen Borst.
The Durfees were both witnesses in Twardus’ murder trial. On Thursday, Twardus’ defense used new testimony to make the case that John Durfee may in fact have been responsible for Gorham’s death.
Geniva Hersom of Springvale, who works as a hair stylist in Kennebunk, testified that Elaine Plourde, a corrections officer at the York County Jail, visited the hair salon before the discovery of Gorham’s body. Hersom said she overheard a conversation between Plourde and one of her coworkers, in which Plourde allegedly claimed that John Durfee, while incarcerated, had whispered to her that he was aware of the whereabouts of Gorham’s body. Hersom said that she did not notify police of this conversation.
“It seemed to me that she was already working with the authorities,” said Hersom.
When questioned by the Twardus defense, Plourde said that she had overheard John Durfee say, “I know where the burial ground is,” but said that she was unsure whether he was referring to the body of Gorham.
“That was the only statement he made,” said Plourde, adding, “He was ranting and raving, but I didn’t listen to every word he said.”
The Durfees have both denied responsibility for Gorham’s death. Lilly and the defense attempted to call the Durfees’ credibility into question by exposing inconsistencies in their testimony regarding and incident that took place two weeks after Twardus’ initial trial.
During the incident, Nancy Durfee was found unconscious on the side of a road in Eliot. Witnesses say they saw her vehicle in the area, and John Durfee has been charged with eluding police in connection with the incident. John Durfee maintains that he was not driving the vehicle; Nancy Durfee claims that the vehicle was being driven by a man to whom she had offered a ride, alleging that she had asked the man to drive the vehicle for her, because “I was tired and I don’t like driving at night.”
On Thursday, the Durfees both testified that they were unaware that Gorham’s father owned property in northern New Hampshire, where Gorham’s body was eventually found.
“He wouldn’t have known that,” said Nancy Durfee of her husband. “We both assumed she’d be found in New Hampshire because that’s where her boyfriend lived.”
Despite claims that she has never smoked PCP, traces of the drug were found in Nancy Durfee’s blood stream when she was taken to the hospital following the incident in Eliot. She claims that secondhand smoke might be to blame.
Charity Camary, a case manager for Maine Pretrial Services, testified that, during a visit to the York County Jail in the period before Gorham’s body was found, John Durfee approached her unsolicited and started talking about Gorham.
“He said her parents had some land in New Hampshire, and he said he bet that’s where they’d find her,” said Camary. “He was playing with his hands a lot. He seemed a little nervous.”
Camary testified that she called the State Police barracks in Alfred to report the conversation. But Michael Zavarsky, the lead detective assigned by State Police to the Gorham case, and who works in police barracks in both Alfred and Gray, said that police had no record indicating that Camary had called.
“I had another detective look into whether she was on a list,” said Zavarsky. “Her name was not on that list.”
Lilly insinuated that State Police may have violated the Brady law, perhaps unknowingly. The Brady law stipulates that prosecutors are required to seek out and divulge any evidence that may aid the defense.
Zavarsky denied that law enforcement officials knowingly violated the law.
Justice Arthur Brennan will next hear arguments from both the defense and prosecution. Those arguments are slated to be held on May 6.
Prosecuting attorney Bill Stokes said that the defense will have its work cut out if it hopes to succeed in establishing a new trial for Twardus.
“It’s a fairly high standard,” said Stokes, “because (otherwise) no case would be final.”
— Staff Writer Jeff Lagasse can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 319, or at jlagasse@journaltribune.com.
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