Jury selection to start in murder trial Friendship man accused of shooting lover outside Rockland business

FRIENDSHIP – Jury selection in the murder trial of a Friendship man could be trying in itself given the extensive pretrial publicity in the case, the defense attorney for Douglas Dyer said Thursday.

Dyer, 32, is accused of shooting to death his married lover Jan. 28, 2005, outside her and her husband’s Rockland shipping business while the husband waited nearby for her to end the adulterous relationship.

With a pool of 130 to 140 people, jury selection could be long and arduous given pretrial publicity and the defendant being known locally, defense attorney Steven Peterson of Rockport said. The court has denied a change of venue for the case.

On that cold day in January, police say victim Allison Small, 30, had prearranged a meeting with Dyer at Vinalhaven Transportation at 760 New County Road, where she and her husband owned a business that ships food and supplies from the mainland to the island.

Small and her husband arrived at the leased Rockland warehouse around 10:30 a.m., where she met with Dyer to break off the extramarital affair. Dyer was a warehouse worker and truck driver for the pair.

According to police, Dyer and Small had been involved in a sexual relationship for about two years.

Small met with Dyer inside the building while Brandon Small waited outside. After half an hour passed, she came out and told her husband things were going well. She went back inside and her husband left to check on some freight at the Maine State Ferry Service terminal. Brandon Small returned to the New County Road business about 30 minutes later.

Fifteen minutes after he had returned, Small heard screaming, commotion and a possible gunshot, according to police reports. The door of the building flew open and Allison Small came running out. Several more shots were fired. Allison Small fell to the ground in front of the couple’s van, shoeless and with her jeans unbuttoned and partially unzipped.

Brandon Small escaped to a nearby home and called police.

Dyer fled in his green Dodge Ram pickup truck, but turned himself in to Waldoboro police several hours later.

Peterson asserts his client is not guilty, as well as not guilty by reason of mental disorder or defect. Dyer had been suffering from clinical depression before Jan. 28, he said, and three weeks before the alleged shooting, Dyer was hospitalized after a suicide attempt.

On Thursday, Peterson said he intends to file a motion asking that the jury be allowed to visit the crime scene. A firsthand look at the crime scene might educate the jury better than police photographs as to “what could have occurred here,” he said.

While discussing the case Thursday, Peterson opened correspondence regarding Court TV’s desire to film the proceedings. Peterson indicated he has no objection, but would consult with his team.

Court TV has contacted with the Knox County court regarding filming, a clerk said Thursday, but no paperwork had been filed as of midday.

The trial, in which the state plans to call 37 witnesses, including the victim’s husband, is expected to last a week. Justice S. Kirk Studstrup is specially assigned to the case. Assistant Attorney General Andrew Benson is the prosecutor.