Woman picks non-jury trial in foster child’s death

AUGUSTA – A Chelsea woman who is charged in the suffocation death of her foster child wants to be tried without a jury.

Sally Ann Schofield is charged with manslaughter and depraved indifference murder in the death of 5-year-old Logan Marr.

The trial for Schofield, a 40-year-old former state social worker, is scheduled to begin June 18 before Superior Court Justice Thomas Delahanty II.

Her decision to be tried without a jury allays concerns about finding an unbiased jury, said her lawyer, Jed Davis of Augusta. To ensure there will be an unbiased jury, trials can be moved to other parts of the state.

“We’re not concerned about [ensuring] an unbiased jury because there will be no jury,” said Davis, who has notified the state Attorney General’s Office of Schofield’s decision.

Schofield allegedly bound the child to a chair and covered her mouth with duct tape. She told police in an interview after the child’s death on Jan. 31, 2001, that she restrained Logan to discipline and calm her after the girl awoke from a nap in a rage. An autopsy showed that Logan died of suffocation.

If convicted of murder, Schofield faces a minimum of 25 years in prison, and the possibility of life in prison. For a manslaughter conviction, she would face up to 40 years behind bars.

A separate, civil case is pending in U.S. District Court in Bangor. The wrongful death suit has been filed by the family of the victim, including her mother, Christy Marr.

U.S. Magistrate Margaret Kravchuk has recommended dismissal of claims against the state Department of Human Services, but claims against several individuals remain.

The case has generated criticism of Maine’s child protective services and prompted a pair of legislative investigations.

The state DHS acknowledged after Logan’s death that her caseworker failed to make a quarterly visit to the Schofield home where Logan and a younger sister, 3-year-old Bailey Marr, had been in foster care.