PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) - Testimony continued today in a hearing that will determine if Dennis Dechaine will be granted a new trial.

Dechaine is serving a life sentence after being convicted of killing 12-year old Sarah Cherry back in 1988. It is one of the most talked about cases ever in Maine.

Dechaine and his attorney are clinging to hope that a small DNA sample taken from the fingernail of the victim will be enough to get Dechaine a new trial. The DNA matches Sarah Cherry and another unidentified male. It does not match Dennis Dechaine.

"You just exclude somebody, you don't necessarily identify who the actual perpetrator is. Exonerations are based upon showing it's not your client", said Dechaine's attorney Steven Petersen.

Sarah Cherry's relatives are convinced of Dechaine's guilt.

"We're going to make sure we do everything we can to make sure he stays where he belongs and may he rot in hell after that", said her grandmother Peg Cherry.

The first phase of Dennis Dechaine's hearing is expected to wrap up tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEWS CENTER