ELLSWORTH, Maine — Both the prosecution and defense attorneys delivered their opening statements Wednesday to the jury in the murder trial of Raymond Lester. Lester is accused of killing of Nicole Mokeme in a hit-and-run crash in June 2022.
Lester sat silent and still, with rare exception to leaning over to whisper to his attorney or take notes. At one point, he did turn and make eye contact with camera crews in the back of the courtroom at Hancock County Superior Court in Ellsworth.
The prosecution was quick to paint Lester as a dark figure who loomed over the retreat Mokeme was hosting when her body was found.
"Instead, there was a cloud over the retreat. And that cloud was this man at the end of the table, Raymond Lester," the prosecutor, Leanne Robbin, said. "That Raymond was angry, and you'll hear that his anger escalated on the night of June 18, and he took it out on the entire community at the retreat."
Lester's defense did not make mention of Lester's character nor mention outright that he was innocent as she addressed the jury. She called on their duty to obey the understanding that Lester is innocent until proven guilty.
"The state cannot prove to you that maybe Raymond did it. They cannot prove to you that he possibly did it. They cannot even prove to you that he probably did it. No. They must prove to you that it was him beyond a reasonable doubt," Lester's defense attorney, Caitlyn Smith, said.
Following opening statements, two witnesses were called to the stand then the court cleared for a momentary recess. Following the recess, the jury was taken to the crime scene. Lester declined to attend the crime scene visit.