HOULTON, Maine — Jury selection continued Tuesday in the case against an 81-year-old Florida man accused of killing an elderly acquaintance at his Presque Isle home.
More than 100 potential jurors from throughout Aroostook County converged Monday at the Aroostook County Superior Court in Houlton to see if they would be selected to try Robert Craig, 81, of Clearwater, Florida. He is accused of killing Leo Corriveau, 86, whose body was found by family members on July 23, 2016, in the backyard of his Route 1 home in Presque Isle.
Justice Hal Stewart II advised attorneys in the case that he would like to select seven more potential jurors Tuesday, after 33 were chosen Monday. That will bring the pool for potential selectees up to 40, a number with which the justice said he felt comfortable to proceed. From those individuals, 12 jurors and three alternates will be chosen. The jurors then will hear testimony in the trial which will be moved to the Superior Court building in Caribou.
Presque Isle resident Leo Corriveau, who died at age 86 as a result of a homicide that is still under investigation. (Courtesy/Scott Englund)
An autopsy by the state medical examiner determined that Corriveau was strangled, suffered broken ribs and cuts on his arm and head, and likely died at least 40 hours before he was found. The affidavit did not specify a motive for the killing.
Two Maine State Police detectives arrested Craig near his home in Clearwater, Florida, five days after the body was found. He was indicted last September.
Assistant Attorneys General Robert “Bud” Ellis and John Alsop are prosecuting the case. Craig, who was clad in slacks, a yellow shirt and suspenders Monday, is being represented by Attorneys Steven Smith and Chris Coleman.
A number of potential jurors were chosen quickly Monday afternoon. But several also were dismissed for medical reasons or because they said they could not be impartial. One potential juror was excused because she said that she felt that Craig was too “feeble” to send to prison if he was found guilty.
Corriveau had returned to Maine from Florida on July 12 with Craig, who worked in lawn maintenance in Florida most of his life, according to an affidavit filed by state police.
Craig stayed with Corriveau for a while in Presque Isle and even met some of Corriveau’s nine grown children. But at one point Corriveau told a relative that Craig was lazy and he wanted him to leave, the affidavit said.
Corriveau’s red Buick Enclave SUV was missing from his home when his body was discovered, but police later found it at Dysart’s in Hermon, where Craig is believed to have driven it before taking a bus back to Florida, according to investigators.
Prosecutors at one point this winter believed Craig was going to accept a plea agreement that would have had him plead guilty in exchange for a reduced charge of manslaughter and a maximum 30-year sentence. But then in March, Craig changed his mind and rejected a plea, thus forcing the trial, which Stewart said will last throughout the week and possibly into next early next week.
Craig has been held without bail at the Aroostook County Jail since he was returned to Maine after his arrest.
