1990
Fire Inspector Wilbur Ricker's deposition   Jan. 8, 1990  January 8, 1990, Fire Inspector Wilbur Ricker was deposed at Paul Pollard’s attorney Marvin Glazier’s law firm in Bangon. He was asked to bring with him photos he had taken of the murder scene and the two gasoline cans he had been holding for nine years. Shuman and Pinkham had never found it necessary to pick them up. He was also asked to bring copies of any reports or daily notes, etc. that he might have.      Inspector Ricker and Fire Chief Norman Herrin were both born in 1913 and were nearing retirement age when they were called to the arson/murder scene at the Rose Kenney/David Dupray cottage.      Ricker was seventy-one years old when he retired in 1984 after 42 years of service with the fire marshal’s office. He testified that the years were from “December 15, 1942 to February 15, 1984.” At the time of his deposition in 1990, he was 77 years old and said he still carried a badge in his pocket as Hancock County Deputy Sheriff. Inspector Ricker was 81 years old when he passed away on August 12, 1994. His deposition testimony gave me a record of what occurred the morning of February 24, 1981 when he found my son in the six-day-old fire rubble.      I will always be thankful to Ricker, Fire Chief Norman Herrin and Maine State Police Cpl. Allen Jamison for the information they gave me and respect them for their honesty and compassion.
Deputy Chief M.E. Dr. Ronald Roy's deposition testimony the jury did not hear  March 23, 1990 Deputy Chief M.E. Dr. Ronald Roy's deposition testimony the jury did hear  March 23, 1990 March 23, 1990, Deputy Chief Medical Examiner (DCME) Ronald Roy’s deposition was taken at the law office of James Mitchell & Jed Davis in Augusta. His deposition was transcribed and video recorded. I didn’t attend Roy’s deposition because Popkin advised me against it, saying he believed it would be too traumatic for me. This was the only deposition I didn’t attend. I now wish I had attended the deposition, regardless of how traumatic it would have been.      Deputy CME Roy’s deposition began with him saying that he had “ training in psychiatry and forensic pathology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario” and had “functioned as the deputy medical examiner as a forensic pathologist for the last eleven years in Maine.”  Roy said he had performed approximately 175 homicide autopsies in 11 years and guessed he would have testified in grand juries, probable cause hearings, bail hearings, and actual trials about 150 times.      Maine Fire Marshal Wilbur Ricker said in his 42 years as fire investigator, he had testified in courts as an expert witness hundreds of times.      When DCME Roy was deposed in March we had only 49 days to trial. Our trial date was scheduled for May 11th. But shortly after Dr. Roy’s deposition was taken, Dr. Roy left the United States and returned to Canada. All the jury would hear was a video with only a sliver of Dr. Roy’s deposition testimony. My attorney had cut up his deposition to support the State of Maine’s position that there was no trauma to Mike's terribly charred body.      Without consulting me, Attorney Popkin deleted more than three-fourths of Roy’s deposition. The complete deposition was 40 pages, consisting of 986 lines. A total of 785 lines were deleted. Popkin’s condensed version supported the state’s position of no trauma to Mike’s body. I have both versions of Dr. Roy’s testimony, the one the jury heard—with all the testimony Attorney Popkin paid to have redacted —and the one the jury didn’t hear. First, I am going use the part of Roy’s deposition testimony that Popkin deleted from Roy’s testimony. Plaintiff's Memorandum Opposition to Defendant's Motion to Dismiss:  Emotional Distress   March 26, 1990 My attorney sells me out  April 9, 1990 My attorney walks out and goes to work for AG's Office  April 30, 1990 One day trial begins  May 11, 1990
1991