Dennis DeChaine

This is one of those cases that I am unsure exactly how I feel about, especially as I start this. Upon starting my research the first article I have come across spoke of Dennis DeChaine's defenders in believing in his innocence. At this point DeChaine has spent more than twenty-five years in prison for a horrendous crime that he and his supporters claim he did not commit. But, apparently DeChaine has not always proclaimed his innocence And, then there is the issue of if you believe that coincidences can be just that in a murder case, and if so, just how many can there be before you decide they are not just coincidences?

On July 6, 1988 twelve year old Sarah Cherry was babysitting for the first time near her home in Bowdoin Maine. When Jennifer Henkel returned to her home, where Sarah was watching her children, she would not find Sarah there. Strangely in her driveway she would find the receipt for a car repair and a notebook with the name Dennis DeChaine on them. Police began looking for both Sarah and DeChaine. Neighbors had heard a vehicle pull into the Henkel drive and the family dogs barking but it seems that no one actually looked outside or could later describe anything.

About 8:45 that night DeChaine would walk out of a wooded area about three mile from the Henkel home. He would be picked up and taken to the police station for questioning. While he was being held officers were still out searching the area. DeChaine's truck would be found nearby at the end of a logging road. DeChaine would claim that he had been in the wood injecting drugs apparently most of the day but claimed that because of this much of what he had done was a blur or a complete mystery. Two days later the body of Sarah Cherry would be found about 500 feet from where DeChaine's truck had been found.

The medical examiner would determine that Sarah had been sexually assaulted, strangled and stabbed. There had been rope found inside DeChaine's truck that was said to have been forensically connected to rope used in the crime to bind her hands. Whether that rope was still found on Sarah is unknown. Investigators would also say that a scarf in the truck had also been used but considering the fact that nothing apparently has conclusively tied DeChaine to the murders I am unsure that I can say this was a fact or a theory. The same could be said about the rope unless it can be determined that there was more than one rope and that one of them was left as the scene on the body.

Dennis DeChaine would go to trial in 1989. Prosecutor would claim at some point that DeChaine had confessed at least three times to the murder. It would also be alleged at some point that he had told his former lawyer where the body was located before Sarah had actually been found. Let me say though that there seems to be little information pertaining specifically to the trial. It was said that from the beginning defense attorneys had alleged that another person was a more likely suspect. His name was Doug Senecal. I will get more into him in a bit but for now I will just mention him and the fact that t has been said that the defense was barred from mentioning him as an “alternative suspect” in court proceedings. Despite this it has not stopped defense attorneys from implicating Senecal and stating that investigators focused in on DeChaine early and never let go of that theory.

DeChaine would be convicted and on April 4, 1989 was given a life sentence. I have recently attempted to determine what each state considers to be a life sentence as it appears that every state is different. What it seems I can say about Maine is that currently any life sentence given in a murder case is said to come without possibility for parole “or no less than twenty-five years.” Now, was that the guidelines followed in 1989? I cannot say. What I can say is that DeChaine has served the minimum of twenty-five year. What I can also tell you is that on the Maine Department of Corrections website next to “earliest possible release date” is simply the word “LIFE.” Beyond that it appears that your guess is as good as mine.

Over the last twenty-five plus years those supporting DeChaine whether in court or in the media have brought up several points that they say point to his innocence. The biggest point is they claim no hair, fiber or blood on him or his truck linked him to Sarah. Now, in fairness I did not hear of any hair or blood evidence but I addressed the fiber evidence above. But, again, as I said there I was unsure how that was allegedly linked to him. Supporters claim that no knife was ever found. While this may be true I do not believe this fact necessarily supports his innocence. From my understanding this was a vast area of woods and while it may have been searched, and no knife found it does not mean one did not exist or that it could not have been taken somewhere else. Of course it is assumed that DeChaine spent from the time Sarah was abducted until the time he was detained in the area, but even DeChaine was unclear of this point. Supporters say that scent dogs were used and that they did not find Sarah's scent in DeChaine's truck nor did they lead investigators from the truck to the body nearby. Another contention is the time of death. Supporters say that they have had a medical examiner of some sort indicate that the time of death occurred after DeChaine was in custody. Now, I saw nothing for certain about any determination as far as time of death but that is never something that is absolutely spot on. There is almost always a vast amount of hours given in which the death could have occurred. In this case the last known time that Sarah was alive would have likely been when Jennifer Henkel left her home, leaving Sarah in charge of her children (I have no idea how old the children were or if they were able to give any details) and she was not seen again, although dead by this time until some two days later. I looked up to see what the weather is like in Maine in the summer and it is said that it could get up in the 90's for several days but it seems to be more of a 70-80 type range and it is said that the nights are “comfortably” cool for the most part. That means that a body out in the open for two days there would say not likely decompose as much as where I live where summers are full of high 80's and early 90's with very high humidity. But regardless, it was two days exposed to elements so I am unsure I can give a lot of credence to this claim by supporters.

Many of the supports say that the number one reason they believe in his innocence is because he has offered to pay for any modern DNA testing to be done. They point out that a guilty person would not do this. Well, first off maybe these folks need to look up the case of Roger Coleman in Virginia. He went to the execution chamber so protesting his innocence and wanting DNA testing that many people believed him and believed that his death was a case of an innocent person being executed. It is the only known case in which after much effort the state finally allowed DNA testing to be done AFTER the execution. When it was all said and done even some of Coleman's most ardent supporters had to admit they were wrong and they had been conned. Now, that does not mean that is always the case but it does mean that just because someone is advocating for DNA in their case, it does not mean they are innocent. Secondly, they bring up “he” has offered to pay for these tests. Well, these same people who have formed a group called Trial and Error raise money for DeChaine's appeals and for this sort of testing so it is not like DeChaine is using his own money. Now in fairness, while DeChaine is apparently still fighting to have some DNA testing done, it does not mean that there has not been any done already. The defense claims that there have been some testing done on some items but that only partial profiles have been obtained. They believe that it points to two male individuals, but the problem is that DeChaine cannot be ruled out as one of them. They also claim that Doug Senecal cannot be ruled out either. Countering those results as well as the other items that the defense wants to have tested the prosecution has presented a witness who had testified both in 2012 and in 2015 saying that many of the results, especially from nail clippings were “textbook examples for contamination.” Of course supporters say that is simply a ploy to prevent more testing being done.

This case has stayed in the news throughout the years for many reasons. One, it is considered to be the most notorious crime or case in the state. Secondly, it was the first case to go before a judge after a 2001 law allowed inmates to seek new trials based on DNA evidence. However, it was said that because of this case another law was enacted in 2006 that stated in order to qualify for a new trial based on DNA, those results and information had to be “so strong as to outweigh other evidence.” Again, supporter believe this is the state's attempt to avoid having to right a wrong.

Now, I told you earlier I would discuss why the defense has claimed that Doug Senecal is an “alternate suspect.” They claim that Senecal had a motive to kill Sarah. Around the time of her murder Doug Senecal had been accused of sexually abusing one of his stepdaughters, dating back to 1983. While nothing was completely specific in how everyone's relationship went together, it was said that in 1983, when this allegedly occurred, Senecal's stepdaughters were also stepsisters to Sarah and they lived in the same home. The way I read this was that the father of his stepdaughters was married to Sarah's mother, but I cannot say that is exactly correct. But, my research only says he was “facing charges” and there had apparently been a witness list provided, however, while the defense claims Senecal had a motive to kill Sarah to stop her from testifying against him, Sarah was never on the witness list to do so. I found absolutely nothing that indicated that Sarah was involved in that case in any way, nor could I even prove that everyone was still married to each other. In the end the charges were dropped. Some say it was because his wife sent the stepdaughter out of the state of Maine for a period of time making her unavailable to testify and that charges were never refiled when she returned to Maine. According to prosecutors and the judges who have presided over DeChaine's case, there has never been a connection, aside from what the defense has presented as a theory only, between Senecal and Sarah.

As I said in the beginning I believe this is a case you have to ask yourself just how many coincidences can occur before it no longer seem reasonable to call something a coincidence. There was evidence at the scene of where Sarah was apparently abducted that pointed to Dennis DeChaines. He was then apprehended just three miles away coming out of a wooded area. Without even bringing into the equation of the fact that he allegedly confessed at least three times, for the majority of the time he has claimed to not know what went on that day because he was too high on drugs. Then his truck is found at the end of a desolate road and Sarah's body is found less than 500 feet from there. As the saying goes, he is either guilty or unluckiest man in the world.

Supporters have claimed that their belief in him is strong because they “know” him. Many of them write to him and visit with him in prison. They claim that this man could not have committed this crime due to the fact of his non-violent attitude and behavior. Well, to that I have two things to say. First, criminals are very good at manipulating other people and letting them see what they want to see. But, secondly, it is reasonable to believe that Dennis DeChaines I no longer addicted to drugs as he claimed he was in 1988. Drugs turn people into different people and clean and sober he is not the same man he was in 1988. That does not mean he is innocent.