SKOWHEGAN – The trial of a Madison man accused of murdering a former roommate was scheduled to begin this week but has been postponed, likely until next year.

Roland Flood, 62, of Madison, is charged in the July 2023 murder of his former roommate, 57-year-old Mark Trabue of Anson. Somerset County Jail photo

The jury selection process for the trial of 62-year-old Roland Flood began Monday in Somerset County Superior Court in Skowhegan. But late in the afternoon, the hearing was postponed due to various requests for evidence that were still pending, according to Flood’s lawyer.

The trial was previously expected to begin this week with the jury seated.

While Flood appeared in court via video conference, attorneys for both sides returned to the Skowhegan courtroom Tuesday morning to hear motions.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert E. Mullen, who is presiding over the hearing, did not rule on the motions Tuesday but said his goal is to resolve as many issues as possible before the trial begins. New trial dates were not set Tuesday, but Mullen said he would consider scheduling the trial in May, depending on the availability of prosecutor Deputy Attorney General Lisa Bogue.

Flood, who has pleaded not guilty, is charged with the July 2023 murder of Mark Trabue, 57, of Anson, according to court records. A grand jury indicted Flood in October 2023 on a charge of murder with intent or knowing or wanton indifference.

Trabue’s body was found with multiple stab wounds July 8, 2023at Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison, according to police. An autopsy performed by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner the next day confirmed multiple stab wounds and Trabue’s death was ruled a homicide.

Flood was arrested on September 1, 2023and has since been denied bail and is being held in the Somerset County Jail in Madison.

Flood and Trabue were acquaintances, according to court records. A state police detective wrote in his affidavit for Flood’s arrest that Flood was romantically involved with a woman who lived with Trabue on Ingalls Street in Anson.

The woman told detectives she broke up with Flood and kicked him because he rented a room from Trabue about a month before the alleged murder, the affidavit states.

Court records from police and prosecutors suggest the two men had argued several days before the alleged murder. Flood threatened Trabue during that argument, but later said the comment was a joke, according to the affidavit.

Flood’s court-appointed attorney is Verne E. Paradie Jr. of the Lewiston law firm Paradie & Rabasco. He said in a statement Friday that his client was innocent and that other people were responsible for the alleged murder.

The issue now before the court is the evidence permissible to be presented at trial in relation to the so-called alternative suspects.

Prosecutors Paradie and Bogue argued the matter before Superior Court Judge Mullen on Tuesday and were expected to present a brief to the court later explaining their arguments.

Another motion of the defense is about whether the knives collected by the police can be shown as evidence. Police and prosecutors wrote in court filings that detectives found six knives in Flood’s belongings. Flood initially told investigators he didn’t have a knife, but later said he did have one, according to prosecutors. Court files stated that none of the knives tested positive for blood.

Copy Story Link