AUBURN, Maine — Editor's Note: The above video aired Aug. 6, 2019.
An attorney for a former Maine resident who is facing trial for an Alaska killing is trying to exclude evidence due to misinformation from police.
Steven Downs, formerly of Auburn, was charged for the 1993 rape and killing of Sophie Sergie at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, where he was then a student.
Authorities arrested Downs in Maine in 2019 after the case sat dormant for years. The second day of hearings in the case took place Tuesday.
Alaska State Police Trooper Randel McPherron said some of the information contained in affidavits used to secure search warrants was false.
James Howaniec, the defense attorney for Downs, said evidence should be tossed out because search warrants for his client’s home and DNA were based on the flawed affidavits.