Murder trial set to start next week continued

BANGOR – The trial of a Bangor man accused of beating, hogtying and smothering a Carmel man at a Pier Street apartment 18 months ago has been continued.

The jury trial of Peter Tuller, 33, charged with killing Michael Demmons, 47, in June 2006, was continued at the request of defense attorney Don Brown of Brewer.

Superior Court Justice Joseph Jabar has not set a new date for the trial in Penobscot County Superior Court, but it is not expected to begin until sometime next year.

Tuller pleaded not guilty to murder last year.

He has been held without bail at the Penobscot County Jail since his arrest shortly after the murder.

Demmons died of blunt-force trauma to the head, neck and chest and from suffocation an autopsy determined two days after his death.

The victim was discovered shortly after 11 p.m. on June 25, 2006, with a white cloth and plastic bags around his head and a brown extension cord tying his arms and legs. Blood was found on Demmons’ body and on the floor and wall of the bedroom.

Demmons was staying for the summer with a female friend, Maria Santos, 46, of Bangor at 72 Pier St. in Bangor, according to court documents.

Tuller allegedly admitted beating up Demmons and hogtying him with the extension cord to keep him from moving, but allegedly told police that Santos had placed the bags over the man’s head and tightened them.

Santos has not been charged in connection with Demmons’ death but is expected to testify at the trial.