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Portland man pleads not guilty to murder charge

Jonathan Alas, 27, has been charged in the February killing of his 58-year-old neighbor Christopher Godin.

PORTLAND, Maine — A Portland man accused of stabbing his neighbor to death pleaded not guilty to a murder charge in Cumberland County Superior Court Wednesday. 

Jonathan Alas, 27, is accused of killing Christopher Godin, 58, inside their Portland apartment building at 263 Cumberland Ave.

On Friday, Feb. 17, police found Godin in a pool of blood with multiple stab wounds after they received a call about a shirtless man stabbing another man in the building's lobby, according to court documents. 

Police located Alas on the night of the murder in his apartment building, without a shirt, and a single puncture wound to his abdomen, along with a bloody kitchen knife nearby. 

One of the neighbors police spoke with said they saw a younger man with dark hair stabbing Godin who they believed was on drugs because "... he was like pretty mellow about it," court documents read.  

"...He turned around and looked at me, and he turned back and stabbed (Godin) again," the affidavit said. "Like he wasn't in any shock at all." 

In court Wednesday, Alas said he understood his rights and pleaded not guilty to the murder charge. 

The trial for Alas is expected to begin in August 2024. 

“Really, his whole life was about music and people, and he was always a great guy to everybody," Rob Robichaud of Cape Elizabeth, who was friends with Godin, said.

Robichaud said Godin was an avid traveler and lover of the Grateful Dead, but most importantly a devoted father. 

"I consider him a brother," Robichaud told NEWS CENTER Maine. "He was very close to me and we’ll miss him terribly.”

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