Murder suspect objects to use of DNA evidence

PORTLAND – A former inmate whose DNA sample led to a cold-case match and murder charges wants the genetic evidence to be thrown out.

Michael Hutchinson of Bridgton was subjected to a “warrantless search” when he was forced to give a DNA sample after a conviction in 2002 for criminal threatening, according to defense attorney Robert Andrews.

The motion in Cumberland County Superior Court likens the DNA sample to police knocking down the door of a home without a warrant.

But Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese said there’s a big difference between collecting DNA from a convicted felon and searching a house.

Hutchinson, 31, is awaiting trial in the death of Crystal Perry, who was 30 when she was fatally stabbed in her Bridgton home in May 1994.

Hutchinson, who lived nearby, was never a suspect in the case. But he submitted a DNA sample when he was convicted in 2002 on the criminal threatening charge.