High court upholds murder conviction
in 1998 Presque Isle slaying
By Judy Harrison
BDN Staff
PORTLAND — The Maine Supreme Judicial Court on March 10 unanimously upheld the murder conviction of George Jaime Sr. in the 1998 death of Starlette Vining.
Jaime, 77, of Presque Isle is serving a 40-year sentence at the Maine State Prison in Warren. He was convicted in 2013 after a four-day trial in Aroostook County Superior Court in Houlton, according to a previously published report.
Vining, 39, was last seen alive in October 1998 when she was Jaime’s live-in girlfriend, according to the 20-page opinion written by Chief Justice Leigh I. Saufley. Vining’s body was never found, and she was not reported missing until 2006.
Justices heard oral arguments in the appeal in November in Portland. Bangor attorney Hunter Tzovarras, who did not represent Jaime during the trial, argued in the appeal that the judge excluded evidence that would have supported the defense’s alternative suspect theory. Jeffrey Silverstein of Bangor represented Jaime during the trial.
The court found that Superior Court Justice Robert Murray should have allowed witnesses to testify about a possible sexual relationship between Vining and the defendant’s son, Ted Jaime. The justices also ruled that although Murray made a mistake, it was a harmless error that would not have changed the outcome of the trial.
“[Silverstein] repeatedly directed the jury’s attention to the inconsistencies in Ted’s story, the toxic relationship that Ted had with both [George] Jaime and Vining, and the possible motives that Ted may have had to lie about Jaime’s guilt,” Saufley wrote. “In Jaime’s closing argument, he pointed out that Ted has a known history of violence against women, was seen wearing bloody clothing on the night of the murder and admitted to cleaning up the crime scene.
“The jury, having heard all of the evidence regarding Ted’s involvement, determined that Jaime was guilty of the crime,” the justices concluded. “No injustice has been demonstrated on this record.”
