BANGOR — Kristine Wiley stood up from her seat in the courtroom Wednesday as the man accused of killing her daughter on Mother’s Day walked in, wearing ripped blue jeans and a white T-shirt with a “Fox” logo.
Her face streaked with tears, she stared at him until her husband made her sit down.
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Kyle Dube, 20, of Orono was formally charged Wednesday with murdering 15-year-old Nichole Cable of Glenburn, whose body was found Monday night.
Dube did not enter a plea and did not say a word. He made no eye contact with Wiley or the dozens of Cable’s friends and family members who attended the proceeding before Justice William Anderson in Penobscot County Superior Court.
Dube’s initial court appearance was moved to a larger courtroom to accommodate Cable’s friends and family and about two dozen members of the media who were reporting on a case that has grabbed the state’s attention.
The young girl disappeared on May 12, possibly lured from her home in a rural town by someone using a fake identity on Facebook.
“Clearly, electronic media was involved,” Assistant Attorney General Andrew Benson said later, though he would not elaborate. He said police believe they have a solid case against Dube, and that Dube was the only one involved.
Dube — who apparently knew Cable for a couple of months and may have had a brief relationship with her — was arrested on the murder charge Tuesday while he was in the Penobscot County Jail on an unrelated charge.
Sheriff Glenn Ross said Dube had been on suicide watch at the jail since he turned himself in Friday to begin a 90-day sentence in connection with a high-speed chase last year. Dube was dropped off by family members, Ross said, and showed up crying.
After Cable’s body was found Monday night, Dube was placed in protective custody, segregated from other inmates. He has remained segregated since he was charged with Cable’s murder.
Deputy Attorney General William Stokes said police began questioning Dube about Cable’s disappearance several days before he reported to jail.
At Wednesday’s hearing, Benson asked that Dube be held without bail until trial. The judge ordered Dube held without bail pending a hearing, though no hearing was scheduled.
Dube’s lawyer, Stephen Smith, asked that the police affidavit filed in support of Dube’s arrest be impounded. He said its release would make it difficult to empanel a jury. He also said threats had been made against Dube online.
The affidavit shows why police believe Dube is the killer, and may answer questions about how, and possibly why, Cable was killed.
Justice Anderson ruled late Wednesday that the affidavit will remain sealed until a Penobscot County grand jury considers Dube’s case and decides whether to indict him.
The state Constitution requires that the case against anyone charged with a felony be presented to a grand jury. Some states have done away with the grand jury process as redundant.
Grand juries in Penobscot County meet during the final week of each month, which is next week.
An attorney for the Portland Press Herald said he planned to file an objection Thursday to Anderson’s decision to seal the affidavit.
Sigmund Schutz said many state and federal courts have ruled that citizens “have a First Amendment and common-law right to this type of affidavit.” Only in truly extreme circumstances do most courts decide that information should be withheld, he said.
Schutz said if the judge believes that parts of the affidavit are so inflammatory that they might make it hard to seat an impartial jury, he could redact those parts while releasing the rest of the document.
The state medical examiner confirmed Wednesday that the body found Monday night in woods along the Stillwater River off Route 43 in Old Town was Cable’s. No cause of death was released. Benson said additional testing would be done on the body.
The criminal complaint charging Dube with murder says he killed Cable in her hometown of Glenburn on May 12, the day she disappeared sometime after 9 p.m.
The complaint describes Dube as 5 feet 9 inches tall and 170 pounds. Cable is described as 5 feet 3 inches and 90 pounds.
Cable’s family has established a fund in her memory. Her stepfather, Jason Wiley, said the fund will be used to help other families who go through similar trauma. Donations to the Nichole Cable Memorial Fund can be made through People’s United Bank, 201 Main St., Bangor, ME 04401.
Dube’s court appearance was brief but emotional for those who cared about Cable.
“It made me sick,” said Ashley Pattershall, 16, who was a close friend of Cable at Old Town High School. Seeing the man who is charged with killing her friend “almost made me want to puke.”
Kristine Wiley left the court Wednesday clutching, as she has for days, a white stuffed animal pillow that was her daughter’s. She was supported by her husband and friends.
James Robinson, a friend, said the family has been told by prosecutors and victims’ advocates not to speak to the media, for fear of jeopardizing the case.
David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at:
dhench@pressherald.com
Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at:
emurphy@pressherald.com
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