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Maine supreme court upholds murder conviction of NC man

Christopher Murray. Photo: Maine State Police


PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Maine supreme court on Tuesday upheld the murder conviction and life prison sentence of one of three people convicted in a deadly home invasion.

Christopher Murray, of Red Springs, North Carolina, contended the judge erred in instructing the jury and in preventing an expert witness from telling jurors the surviving victim was likely “confabulating” her memory.

But the Maine Supreme Judicial Court said that the judge did not commit an error in instructing the jury or abuse his discretion in limiting the testimony.

Murray, Tony Locklear, of East Millinocket, and Alexis Locklear, of Maxton, North Carolina, were charged in the 2017 home invasion in Millinocket in which 59-year-old Wayne Lapierre and his wife were both shot in the head, prosecutors said.

Lapierre died from his wounds several days later but his wife survived and testified during the trial.

Tony Locklear is also serving a life sentence for murder. Alexis Locklear was sentenced to a year in prison for robbery.

The three people came to Lapierre’s home to rob him, according to court documents. Lapierre was a medical marijuana grower, and the three left with marijuana and cash.

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