PARIS — An Oxford County Superior Court jury Tuesday afternoon found a Kennebunk man not guilty of assaulting and threatening his former girlfriend during a camping trip in Rangeley Plantation in 2014.
The unanimous verdict for Daniel Kelley, 43, came after less than two hours of deliberation and at the end of the second day of the trial.
Kelley was found not guilty of aggravated assault, domestic violence assault and domestic violence criminal threatening against Barbara Allen, 50, also of Kennebunk.
Allen filed a criminal complaint shortly after the couple returned to Kennebunk from a 10-day camping trip to Mooselookmeguntic Lake on Aug. 10, 2014. Allen alleged she was violently attacked by Kelley at their remote campsite the night before.
She told police and medical practitioners that she had been knocked around “like a piece of garbage,” “strangled” and threatened with a knife and with exposure over the internet of nude photos Kelley took of her.
Defense attorney Gene Libby, to no avail, objected to having the jury hear the state’s expert witness, Mary “Polly” Campbell, director of the Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner Program for the state. He said Allen’s testimony about being strangled differed from her earlier statements.
But Justice Robert Clifford ruled the jury had a right to hear Campbell testify about what she has studied about strangulation. In more than half the cases, no visible marks on the neck can be observed, she said.
Clifford also ruled against Libby in not allowing Allen’s ex-husband, Clark Joy, to testify before the jury about Allen’s alcohol consumption, temper and memory blackouts.
Clifford did allow Nancy Cambrola of Kennebunk to testify about Allen’s dancing at the local Feile Restaurant and Pub on Halloween in 2014 and 2015. He did not allow testimony by Cambrola about Allen’s alcohol consumption.
The defense solicited Cambrola’s testimony because Allen had written the Oxford County district attorney on Jan. 24 that injuries caused by Kelley had kept her from being able to dance.
After the verdicts, Libby said the state’s case, presented by Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Winter, was weak because the Franklin and Oxford County Sheriff’s Offices didn’t do a thorough investigation, and the District Attorney’s Office didn’t evaluate the evidence and had weak witnesses.
“They were very weak and they became good witnesses for the defense,” he said.
“We’re very fortunate that the jury did their job, and they clearly said that the state didn’t prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt,” Libby said.
As for Kelley, he said the experience hasn’t spoiled his appreciation for the outdoors.
“I’m going fishing,” Kelley said. “That’s exactly what I’m doing. It was stressful and I’m glad it’s over.”
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