HOULTON, Maine — A jury of 12 and four alternates was chosen Thursday for the upcoming murder trial of a Presque Isle man charged in the 2019 shooting deaths of two Castle Hill men.
An Aroostook County grand jury indicted Bobby Nightingale, 40, in the intentional or knowing murder of Roger Ellis, 51, and Allen Curtis, 25, in October 2019. The men’s bodies were found in Ellis’ 2007 red Silverado pickup truck on the State Road in Castle Hill shortly after midnight on Aug. 13, 2019.
Nightingale has been held in the Cumberland County jail since his October 2019 arrest, awaiting trial.
Maine State Police were investigating a noise complaint when they found Ellis’ truck and a 2006 Suzuki ATV in the middle of the road. The ATV matched a description of one Nightingale had been using, according to court documents.
Nightingale pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted on the murder charges, he faces between 25 years and life in prison. Under Maine law, a judge may impose a life sentence if more than one person is slain in a crime.
As jury selection got underway in Aroostook County Superior Court in Houlton on Wednesday morning, Justice Stephen Nelson asked Nightingale to stand and face the pool of potential jurors before the detailed selection process began.
Appearance notices were sent to 500 people from around Aroostook County, some as far away as St. Francis and Fort Kent. Of those initially called, some were excused because of scheduling conflicts, illness or undue hardship.
Initially on Wednesday, Nelson directed several general questions to the large juror pool related to their relationships to each other, their relationships to attorneys and the defendant, or to the case in general.
Clerk of Courts Diane Glidden drew juror numbers from the larger pool. Those jurors were called for more detailed individual questioning related to the Nightingale trial, slated to begin at 9 a.m. Monday in Aroostook County Superior Court in Caribou.
Nelson said he expects the trial will take about two weeks.
Getting to the 16 final jurors is a tedious task as the judge and attorneys attempt to select a fair and impartial jury.
To do this, each juror called is asked several probing personal questions about their feelings on certain issues related to the case.
In particular, questions about the juror’s relationship to the list of witnesses that may be called to testify, law enforcement, drugs, drug arrests, domestic violence and their previous knowledge of the Nightingale case were prevalent.
Some jurors had family members who had been prosecuted by the Aroostook County Attorney General’s Office; some had personal experience with domestic violence or drug charges; some were related to law enforcement officials. And they were all asked if their experiences would affect their judgment in this case.
If Nelson or the attorneys were uncertain about the juror’s response, they asked for more details.
For example, “What do you mean by, ‘I believe I can be fair.’”
During this phase of jury selection, the defense and prosecution can challenge a juror for cause and Nelson decides if that juror remains in the pool.
Nightingale was present for all juror questioning.
By the end of the day on Wednesday, the list had winnowed down to 38. And on Thursday morning, the attorneys presented the list of jurors they would like excluded. The 16 were determined through this process.
Back in the large courtroom, the selected jurors were called and seated in the jury box.
Nelson reminded the jury that they are prohibited from discussing, researching or accessing news accounts of the case.
“We want your decision to be based on properly admitted evidence,” Nelson said.
In Maine, jurors are paid $15 a day and 15 cents a mile to serve. In other states and in federal court, jurors are paid about $50 to $60 per day.
Prior to Monday’s trial, there are several pending motions that Nelson will rule on in this case, including a motion to dismiss the charges because a detective may have overheard confidential calls between Nightingale and his defense attorney Jack Tebbetts; and a change-of-venue motion to move the case to a more impartial area of the state.
