Jury decides man can get life without parole for North Shore murder
LEILA FUJIMORI / LFUJIMORI@STARADVERTISER.COM
Stephen Brown, second from right, stands next to his lawyer during court proceedings on Tuesday.
A Circuit Court trial jury determined today that it is necessary for Stephen Brown, who was convicted Friday of murder, kidnapping and burglary, to be subject to extended sentencing for the protection of the community.
That verdict gives Judge Rowena Somerville the option of life without the possibility of parole when she sentences the 28-year-old on May 10, a sentence usually reserved for first-degree murder.
The jury found the state proved beyond a reasonable doubt that in the case of the second-degree murder conviction, it is necessary for the protection of the public to extend his sentence from a life term to a definite life term of imprisonment.
Brown, one of two defendants in the Dec. 7, 2017 murder and kidnapping of Telma Boinville and kidnapping of her young daughter, was tried separately from ex-girlfriend Hailey Dandurand, who faces trial in July for the same crimes.
Brown was found guilty as charged Friday, including on second-degree murder, which carries a life term with the possibility of parole.
But the state sought an extended term based on his conviction of multiple felony crimes.
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The jurors also found the state proved Brown should be sentenced to 20 years for the burglary, up from 10 years and for Boinville’s kidnapping to life from 20 years. However, it said no to extended sentencing on the kidnapping of her daughter.
Jurors sat through statements by the state and defense, and heard testimony of a forensic psychiatrist retained by the defense, who found that Brown did not fit the profile of the killer in this case.
Dr. Martin Blinder, a forensic psychiatrist, who is also a physician, testified: “This was not to say he is an angel, but the degree of sadistic, almost psychotic rage that gave rise to what I read from that autopsy report, it did not fit the profile that I have of this man. It doesn’t fit from my clinical perspective.”
Blinder was not allowed to testify during the evidence phase of the trial because his testimony would have been considered hearsay since he was expected to give his opinion on who was responsible for the murder.
