A Maine man who’s serving a life sentence for the killing of a 12-year-old girl in 1988 will not get a new trial.
Dennis Dechaine was convicted of killing Sarah Cherry after kidnapping her from a home in Bowdoin where she was babysitting.
His defense argued last spring that DNA from blood under the victim’s fingernails is not from Dechaine, but from an unknown assailant.
On Thursday, Superior Court Judge Bruce Mallonee said new DNA evidence did nothing to undermine the old evidence, including DNA found on his scarf, which was used to strangle the girl, and a stick that was used to assault her.
