I lived in Maine in 1988 and remember well the Sarah Cherry kidnapping, torture and murder. I was shocked a crime that savage would happen in a state such as Maine. Relief followed as the killer was tried, convicted and put away forever.

Years later, I was given a copy of “Human Sacrifice.” I was skeptical about the claims made by James Moore that Dennis Dechaine was framed. How ludicrous! What would be the motive for that? It was like some twisted plot from an Agatha Christie novel.

As I read the evidence that was presented and, what is more important, not presented to the jury at trial, I become a believer. In a country that prides itself on our constitutional right of innocence until proven guilty, the state of Maine and the media ignored those basic rights afforded every citizen.

I challenge the newspaper, as a seeker of truth, to look at the evidence and see what it reveals. I challenge the paper to investigate unsolved crimes with a similar modus operandi in the past two decades. If Dechaine didn’t do it, then Sarah’s killer is still at large. Has the real killer used the same cunning to frame other men for his cowardly acts? If it worked in Maine, why not?

Someone knows the truth. The killer of Sarah would not have stopped. No one that deranged could ever stop. I challenge that person to break his silence. Let’s put the real killer behind bars.

Stacey VavrekNorfolk, Va.Former Maine resident