FARMINGTON — A Jay man accused of killing his girlfriend July 11, 2017, at her home in Jay is scheduled Tuesday to undergo a forensic evaluation for competency, criminal responsibility and other mental conditions, according to a court document.
Dr. Robert Riley, a consultant neuro-psychologist for State Forensic Services, is scheduled to conduct the examination.
James “Ted” Sweeney, 57, pleaded not guilty in September to a charge of intentional or knowing murder of Wendy Douglass, 51. The two lived together on Jewell Street in Jay.
Sweeney has been held without bail at the Franklin County Detention Center since shortly after he turned himself in at the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn on July 11. Sweeney was indicted on the murder charge in August. He has not had a bail hearing.
Sweeney, who is deaf, presented a written note at the Auburn jail that read, “I am going to jail cause I hurt my girlfriend,” according to an affidavit that was filed last year with the Farmington court by Detective John L. Kyle II, of the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit-South.
The note asked that Douglass be checked on at the Jay residence.
Police did a wellness check at the residence and discovered Douglass’ body in her bed with “significant injuries to her head” and covered with a blanket, according to the affidavit.
When the residence was searched, an evidence response team located a “black wooden baseball bat with red/brown staining on it, hidden at the base of the stair leading to the second floor. The red/brown staining came back presumptive positive for blood,” according to Kyle’s affidavit.
A baseball bat found in the home is believed to be the murder weapon, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Marchese said outside the Androscoggin County Superior Court in Auburn after Sweeney’s initial appearance in July 2017.
Dr. Clare Bryce, of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta, told Kyle “the cause of death is blunt force trauma to Wendy’s head. The manner of death is homicide,” the affidavit states.
Douglass was a produce manager at Food City in Livermore Falls at the time of her death.
Justice William Stokes is overseeing the case.
A conviction on a murder charge carries a minimum sentence of 25 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison.
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