BANGOR (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- The 30-year wait is almost over. The verdict in the killing of a Millinocket teen case to be delivered Thursday.
Philip Scott Fournier is accused of brutally beating 16-year-old Joyce McLain to death behind the soccer fields of Schenck High School in East Millinocket back in August of 1980. A family and a community hope the two-week trial and nearly two-week decision-making period ends in justice for Joyce.
► JUSTICE FOR JOYCE | Week one of the Phillip Scott Fournier trial
Fournier allegedly confessed to the murder several months after the teen was killed. Prosecutors said that confession consisted of specific details to the crime scene that only someone involved would know, like McLain menstruating the night she died.
However, that initial conversation was never logged by police and Fournier's defense says it's not credible due to the defendant's traumatic brain injury. They argue that there were many possible suspects and that a trial was never pursued because the State didn't have enough evidence to make its case.
► JUSTICE FOR JOYCE | Week two at the Phillip Scott Fournier Trial
There was never any DNA evidence linking Fournier or any other suspect to the crime scene nor was clear if the murder weapon had been identified or found.
The verdict is scheduled to be read at 9:30 a.m. at the Penobscot Judicial Center in Bangor. If convicted, Phillip Scott Fournier faces 25 years to life in prison.
