Eric Knight’s neighbors wanted to invite him to Friendsgiving.

It was 2023, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, when the couple across the street knocked on Knight’s door and followed his mother inside, a prosecutor said in court Tuesday. The neighbors almost immediately called 911 after finding Knight in a bedroom with a woman’s body covered in a white blanket nearby.

It was Benita Preo, Knight’s partner of nearly 15 years.

Knight has been charged with depraved indifference murder in connection with Preo’s death and is on trial in Cumberland County Superior Court this week. The state has alleged that Knight strangled Preo sometime after Thanksgiving, the last day anyone had heard from her.

Knight, who was arrested and charged in March 2024, has pleaded not guilty.

Knight told his neighbors and police in November 2023 that Preo had overdosed the night before. An autopsy by the state’s deputy chief medical examiner, Dr. Liam Funte, revealed head and neck injuries “consistent with a beating,” Assistant Attorney General Mark Rucci said in court. 

“And what he realized is that Benita Preo didn’t die of a drug overdose at all, folks,” Rucci told the jury. “She was strangled.”

The prosecution and defense both said in opening statements Tuesday that the couple had a tumultuous relationship. In a court hearing last week, the attorneys mentioned Bridgton police were called to the address repeatedly when the couple fought.

Katherine Randall, Knight’s attorney, told the jury he was afraid of Preo leading up to her death, and that Preo had been using substances that made her emotional and unpredictable. Randall said police found evidence of substance use in the home.

“The issue is not whether Mr. Knight killed Ms. Preo,” Randall said in court. “The issue is why. What happened in those moments leading up to her death? What did he perceive, in those critical moments leading up to her death? What part of the story have you not been told by the government?”

Both neighbors testified Tuesday about entering Knight’s home and calling police. Rucci played a 911 call, in which the dispatcher talked them through the CPR process until paramedics arrived.

Randall said that Knight could be heard weeping in the background of the call.

Preo, 51, had four adult children and more than a dozen grandchildren, according to her obituary.

“She was a mother who seldom went more than a day without speaking to at least two of her adult children, and Thanksgiving was no exception,” Rucci said in court. He said she had texted three of her children that day.

“They represent the last time those children ever hear from her,” Rucci said.

The trial is expected to continue throughout the week.