BANGOR — Maine’s highest court has denied another appeal of a Guilford man convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend and the toddler she was babysitting.
Jeffrey Cookson sought a new trial for the 1999 killings in Dexter based on a provision of Maine’s DNA statute.
His attorneys argued that a DNA test of hair found on his ex-girlfriend’s hand could exonerate him, but the state supreme court said Tuesday it didn’t represent clear and convincing evidence someone else committed the crime. A judge previously said the hair could’ve come from emergency responders or others who lived in the household.
This was Cookson’s fourth appeal. He’s serving a life sentence for the shooting deaths of 20-year-old Mindy Gould and 21-month-old Treven Cunningham.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less