BELFAST — A jury was selected April 3, to hear the case of a Rockport woman accused of manslaughter, stemming from the Feb. 8, 2017 death of a Waldo man.

Victoria Scott, 34, was arrested May 10, the day she was indicted by a Waldo County Grand Jury.

Scott is accused of using a knife against 53-year-old Edwin Littlefield “recklessly or with criminal negligence,” ultimately causing death.  

Evidence of the use of alcohol or “other substances,” the night of the incident, is also expected to be presented during the trial. Scott is expected to claim self-defense to the charge of manslaughter, which will leave it up to the State to disprove the claim, according to the questionnaire.

Other questions posed to potential jurors included whether they or a close friend or relative have ever been the victim of a crime of violence, and whether they themselves have ever been a defendant in a criminal case, among 32 other questions posed.

The trial is expected to begin Monday, April 23, and to last roughly one week. Jurors will not be sequestered during this time, which means they will be allowed to return home to their families every day.

Ten different members of the Maine State Police are expected to testify during the trial, ranging from a lone trooper to six detectives. Members of the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office are also expected to testify, in addition to members of the Maine State Police Crime Laboratory, members of the Bangor Police, and civilians. Jurors were asked whether they know anyone listed as a potential witness.

Potential juror responses were turned in to Justice Robert Murray, who reviewed the answers and determined whether any additional questions needed to be asked.

While filling out questionnaires potential jurors remained subject to the Juror’s oath.

The Juror’s oath is an oath where jurors swear to give a true verdict according to the law.

It states: “You, and each of you, swear that in all causes committed to you, you will give a true verdict therein according to the law and the evidence given to you. So help you God,” according to the Maine Legislature.

For jurors “conscientiously scrupulous” of taking an oath, the word “affirm” can be answered instead of “swear,” and the words, “this do you under the penalties of perjury,” can be used instead of the words, “so help you God.”

Scott is being represented by attorneys Stephen C. Peterson and Naomi Cohen, both of Rockport.

In a Motion In Limine filed with Waldo County Court March 29, Attorney Peterson moved to exclude a number of matters from evidence at trial on “the grounds that such evidence is not relevant, or if relevent, that prejudicial value of the same outweighs the probative value.”

Some of the items include any and all autopsy photographs of the victim, including the victim’s body when it was photographed at the scene, and any and all photographs which are “bloody and gruesome and not necessary to the case.”

Scott’s family history is another matter Peterson moved to exclude, in addition to “numerous interviews of the Defendant” which do not involve the events.

Scott was released May 12, under a pre-trial supervision contract, which included many special conditions, including not possessing illegal drugs or dangerous weapons, abstaining from alcohol, submitting to searches of herself, her vehicle or residence and an order not to leave the State of Maine.

Her bail was revoked Nov. 20, after testing positive for drugs.

The trial is set to begin April 23.

Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com