MACHIAS — An otherwise routine civil hearing set for early September in Washington County Superior Court doubtless will stir many painful and disturbing memories for family members of a Machiasport couple murdered nearly five years ago as they took an after-supper walk a few feet from their home.

The brutal shootings of Michael G. and Florence C. Phillips by Richard B. Uffelman on Aug. 29, 1989, has become part of Machiasport’s darker history.

The event — beginning with a barrage of more than 25 shotgun and rifle shots directed by Uffelman and his then 10- and 12-year-old sons at the Phillipses — was captured on a borrowed video camera set up inside the Phillipses’ kitchen window.

Although the Phillipses were out of the camera’s view, the film — aired on numerous nationally syndicated news magazine shows — became the single most damning piece of evidence refuting Uffelman’s claim of self-defense. Autopsies determined that the fatal wounds were not received in the initial barrage of gunfire, but from a high-powered, .444-caliber Marlin rifle, fired by Uffelman at near point-blank range in a field of alders to which the badly wounded couple had fled.

Uffelman was convicted of the murders in October 1991. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison for killing Michael Phillips, who was carrying two handguns, and life imprisonment in the shooting death of Florence Phillips, who was unarmed. Appeals filed by Uffelman have been turned down by the state supreme court.

While the criminal aspects of the case have been resolved, another chapter will be played out next month in Washington County Superior Court in Machias when a hearing is held in a nearly 5-year-old civil suit, filed in September 1989 for Michael A. “Mikey” Phillips, the victims’ son, by Sandra Miller, his half sister and former

The suit itself already has been decided in favor of his clients, Norman Toffolon, the Machias attorney representing the boy and his guardians, said Tuesday. The court’s ruling occurred by default when Richard, Anita and Francis Uffelman failed to present a formal response to the charges listed in the suit.

The hearing, to determine the amount of damages to be awarded the boy in the wrongful death suit, will bring the 15-year-old and Uffelman face-to-face for the first time since the trial. Toffolon said that the hearing could reopen many old wounds that have been slow to heal.

Michael Phillips, who was 10 the night his parents died, huddled inside his Machiasport home with supper guests Colby and Vanessa Kilton after the shots were fired. One of the most haunting and disturbing sounds recorded by the camera was the sobbing, frightened boy crying, “Mom … Mom … Mom … ” as the echoes of the initial barrage faded.

Toffolon said the boy, who moved to Indiana after the shooting to live with his half sister, Miller, has had a difficult time dealing with the tragedy. According to documents filed with the suit, Michael Phillips has been institutionalized in a state-run residential treatment center in Indiana for more than a year. An unnamed Indiana lawyer is identified as the boy’s legal guardian.

The hearing, set for Sept. 7, was scheduled for last September. But as Toffolon wrote in an Aug. 27, 1993, motion for delay, doctors treating the boy for “mental health problems” felt at the time that the hearing “would greatly traumatize” him.

Asked if the boy’s problems stemmed from the shooting five years ago, Toffolon replied, “Oh yes. That has a lot to do with it.” He refused to discuss the boy’s condition further, saying the information was protected as confidential by Indiana law.

Toffolon acknowledged that doctors treating young Phillips now say he is capable of traveling to Machias to testify. Before that happens, a court order must be issued in Indiana allowing him to leave the facility temporarily to travel to Maine for the hearing.

Meanwhile, a writ has been issued clearing the way for Uffelman’s transfer from Maine State Prison in Thomaston to Machias for the hearing.

How Uffelman will react in court to the boy is cause for concern, according to Toffolon. A verbal and physical outburst from Uffelman toward the boy punctuated the October 1991 murder trial, held in Aroostock County Superior Court in Houlton. According to some accounts of the incident, Uffelman “lunged” at the boy — then 12 — as the videotape of the shooting was being played. At the time, Uffelman said he wasn’t attacking the boy, but was trying to show his concern and sympathy for him.

Much has changed in the five years since the civil suit was filed. At the time, the suit, then 16 counts long, named Uffelman, his wife, Anita, and one son, identified only as “John Doe,” as co-defendants. A total of $16 million — $1 million for each count — was sought in the wrongful death of the Phillipses.

The suit later was amended to add Richard Uffelman’s father, Francis, after it was learned that Uffelman had quietly transferred his home and property to his father while awaiting trial on Oct. 10, 1989. That discovery led to a 17th count being added to include Francis. At the same time, the dollar amounts were dropped in favor of an “amount deemed just by the court.”

Uffelman’s white, Southern-style house, replete with five massive columns, burned to the foundation in December 1990, leaving only the shorefront property on which it stood. Francis Uffelman died shortly after his son’s trial.

Uffelman and his wife are representing themselves. According to information contained in court files, Anita Uffelman has lived in Bucksport since November. The Uffelman’s two sons, who were taken from their mother by the Department of Human Services after the slayings and placed in a foster home, were returned to her by the state in early 1993.

Toffolon said a lien has been placed on behalf of the Phillips boy against Uffelman’s property in Machiasport. The property has been put up for sale. Toffolon said he would not prevent its being sold, provided arrangements suitable to his clients are made for any money made in the sale.

Toffolon suspects other assets are available through Francis Uffelman’s estate. “There will be further litigation before this is finally settled,” Toffolon vowed.