Presque Isle resident Leo Corriveau, who died at age 86 as a result of a homicide that is still under investigation. (Courtesy of Scott Englund)
HOULTON, Maine — Attorneys finished with jury selection Tuesday afternoon in the case against an 81-year-old Florida man accused of killing another octogenarian in Presque Isle last year.
Beginning Wednesday morning, a panel of nine men and four women will hear opening arguments in the trial of Robert Craig, 81, of Clearwater, Florida.
The jurors were selected over the past two days from 150 possible pool members gathered before Justice Harold Stewart II in Houlton at the larger of the two superior court facilities in Aroostook County.
The trial itself will move Wednesday to the courthouse in Caribou.
Craig is charged with intentional murder, which carries a prison sentence of 25 years to life. Prosecutors allege that Craig killed 86-year-old Leo Corriveau on July 21, 2016, at Corriveau’s Presque Isle home on Route 1, fled with about $400 and Corriveau’s red Buick Enclave SUV to Hermon, then took a bus back to Florida.
Craig was arrested on July 27, 2016, and has remained held without bail since.
According to an affidavit, Craig and Corriveau knew each other for about four years. Corriveau spent winters in Florida, and the two came to Maine to stay at Corriveau’s Presque Isle home on July 12.
An autopsy by the state medical examiner determined Corriveau was strangled, suffered broken ribs and cuts on his arm and head, and likely died at least 40 hours before his body was found by family members in his backyard. The affidavit does not specify a motive for the slaying.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney Generals Robert “Bud” Ellis and John Alsop. Corriveau is being represented by court appointed Attorneys Steven Smith and John Tebbetts.
The trial is expected to last through the week and possibly into next week. Testimony is expected from several Maine State Police detectives who investigated the case as well as members of the Corriveau family. Attorneys have not said if Craig will take the stand in his own defense.
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.
