Jury finds man guilty in 1994 murder

PORTLAND – A 32-year-old man was found guilty of murder Monday in the fatal stabbing of a Bridgton woman 13 years ago.

A Cumberland County jury of eight men and four women deliberated for 2 /2 hours before finding Michael Hutchinson of Bridgton guilty in the death of Crystal Perry, a 30-year-old single mother. Hutchinson, his head bowed, did not show any reaction when the verdict was read.

In closing arguments Monday morning, Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese said Hutchinson went to Perry’s Bridgton home on the night of May 12, 1994, had sex with her and then stabbed her repeatedly. Hutchinson’s DNA matched that found in blood and semen on the victim’s body, Marchese said.

Defense counsel Robert Andrews told the Cumberland County jury that there was no direct evidence against his client and no weapon linking him to the crime.

Hutchinson testified last week that he and Perry, who lived about a mile apart, had consensual sex before a male intruder burst into the house, knocked him unconscious and stabbed her. He said he fled and never told anyone.

Among the prosecution witnesses was Perry’s daughter, Sarah, who was 12 when she was awakened by the attack and found her mother’s bloody body on the kitchen floor.

Following the trial Monday, she and other family members told reporters that they’ll never know why Crystal Perry was killed, but that the verdict was a long time in coming.

“It is such a relief – this outcome,” said Sarah Perry, who is now 25 and lives in North Carolina.

The murder was one of the state’s most troubling unsolved crimes, with detectives working for years to identify the killer.

Hutchinson was linked to the crime only last year after he submitted a DNA sample following his conviction in an unrelated case. Police then compared Hutchinson’s DNA to samples collected from Perry’s body.

Hutchinson faces 25 years to life in prison. A sentencing date has not been scheduled.