By James A. Kimble
jkimble@eagletribune.com
August 19, 2008 01:40 am CONCORD, N.H. — A Plaistow man serving a life sentence for murdering his live-in girlfriend six years ago may soon make another bid for freedom. Joseph Sawtell, 27, has been contesting his first-degree murder conviction since 2006, both in state and federal court. A Superior Court judge denied Sawtell's last bid in June 2007 to overturn his case, but Sawtell's lawyers recently indicated to a federal judge they will press on with contesting his case in Superior Court. If that effort fails, they may return to federal court, claiming Sawtell's rights to a fair trial were violated, court documents indicate. In 2003, a jury convicted Sawtell of the fatal shooting of his girlfriend, Crystal Sheehan, 19, the night of Sept. 19, 2002. After the fatal shooting, Sawtell then shot himself twice in the chest. He is being represented by Haverhill, Mass., lawyers, Scott and Thomas Gleason. Just last month, the Gleasons won the release of a Haverhill man serving six to 12 years in state prison for sexually assaulting a customer inside his Plaistow motorcycle shop. Roland Chretien was freed from prison July 8 after serving three years in prison. Attorney General Kelly Ayotte is now awaiting a more detailed decision in that case explaining the reasons for releasing Chretien, which will help her office decide whether to appeal the decision or retry Chretien on the sexual assault charges. The Gleasons represented Sawtell during his 2003 murder trial, during which they suggested someone else could have entered the home, gunned down Sheehan and Sawtell, then escaped. At the time, Sawtell, then 21, was illegally selling prescription drugs over the Internet. Prompted by another defense attempt to free Sawtell, state investigators in 2007 tested bloodstains inside the murder weapon. That analysis only bolstered the state's theory that Sawtell shot Sheehan and then turned the gun on himself, a judge concluded. In 2005, Sawtell made a failed bid for an appeal before the state Supreme Court, claiming the jury should not have heard testimony that he was unhappy about being a father. Sheehan and Sawtell had a child who was 3 months old at the time of the murder. Sawtell was arrested about two weeks after the murder after being discharged from Lawrence General Hospital. Defense lawyers have protested that a nurse was allowed to testify that Sawtell admitted to her he shot himself, saying he was aiming for his heart. They said that conversation should have been protected under doctor-patient confidentiality. There were no witnesses to the shootings, but a neighbor testified about hearing the couple arguing, then Sheehan pleading with Sawtell before the gunfire. Defense lawyers will have to notify a federal judge in September of their latest course of action.
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