BANGOR, Maine -A former Auburn man serving a life sentence in one of Maine's most notorious murder cases is seeking a new trial.John A. Lane, 66, was convicted of killing 4-year-old Angela Palmer on Oct. 27, 1984, by putting her into a hot oven.
Auburn firefighters, responding to a report of smoke inside a Main Street apartment building, found the little girl's remains inside an oven in Lane's apartment.
Lane told police he thought Angela Palmer was the devil when he put her in the oven. The girl's mother, Cynthia Palmer, told police Lane drugged her and she was in a comatose state as she watched from another room.
In a motion filed in federal court, Lane claims his mental illness prevented him from filing a timely appeal.
Lane also claims that his lawyer did a poor job of defending him during his 1985 murder trial. Among other things, Lane says his lawyer should have introduced his mental health records into evidence and failed to challenge statements by a psychiatrist that Lane understood the wrongfulness of his actions.
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court upheld Lane's conviction in 1987, according to court documents.
Lane is currently serving his sentence at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham.
"From my perspective, he got excellent representation. He got a very fair trial," said Elliot Epstein, an author of a book detailing the events of the murder.
Epstein was a young lawyer at the time and attended the entire trial before writing a book about it called "Lucifer's Child.""Almost every first responder within a year or two went out on some kind of disability or resigned. In fact, one of the policemen was so disturbed that he attempted suicide. So, there's no question that witnessing this kind of thing has a profound effect on the psyche of the people who were involved," Epstein said.
Lane and Cynthia Palmer were tried together in Bangor. She was acquitted.
John Huntington lives at 317 Main St. in Auburn in the apartment above where the murder took place. Like so many others, he has strong opinions about Lane's fate.
"I definitely don't want to see him get out. What he did was pretty horrific. I don't think he deserves to get out. I mean, he deserves to stay in there the rest of his life for what he did," Huntington said.
In a ruling issued Thursday, Magistrate John Nivison concluded that Lane, who has been treated for psychosis during his imprisonment, had presented sufficient evidence to show his mental illness prevented him from filing his appeal sooner.
Nivison also rejected the state's motion to dismiss Lane's appeal.
Instead, Nivison recommended that the court set a date by which the Attorney General's Office must notify the court whether it will argue for dismissal based on the merits of Lane's claims.
The Attorney General's Office has 14 days to appeal the magistrate's decision.
http://www.wmtw.com/news/man-serving-life-sentence-for-putting-auburn-girl-in-hot-oven-seeks-new-trial/33305414
On the night of October 27, 1984, John Lane, then 37, was living with 30-year-old Cynthia Palmer and Palmer's two daughters. 4-year-old Angela Palmer and 5-year-old Sarah.
That night, Lane beat and tortured Angela before forcing her into an oven and wedged a chair against the door so she could not get out. Lane then turned the heat up as high as it could go as Angela screamed, "Let me out, Daddy, let me out!"
It was the smell and smoke of Angela's cooked body that eventually led police to the apartment and discover Angela's smoldering body after tracing the source of the smoke and opening the oven.
Lane would end up charged with murder while Angela's mother would be charged with manslaughter. She would later be acquitted because, according to her, she had overdosed the night of Angela's murder and was not aware of what had happened.
Angela Palmer
Lane went for an insanity defense, claiming he was in the middle of exorcising demons from Angela's mother, and that Angela herself was a demon. He told officers that Angela was a demon that was trying to kill him. He said she turned green and ugly and referred to herself as Lucifer.
His defense did not work, and he would end up being sentenced to life in prison. He is currently serving his sentence at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham where he has been treated for psychosis. Now he is seeking a new trial.
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