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ALFRED (NEWS CENTER) -- Wednesday, State Police detectives were back at the apartment where Kelly Gorham was last seen. They were joined by game wardens as they try to decide if they should conduct a large scale search.
   
A state police airplane circled overhead around the apartment and a large wooded area across the street. Aerial photographs were taken to help guide searchers if a large scale effort is undertaken.

Across the street from Gorham's apartment there are miles of woods with hiking paths and snowmobile trails.

"That's the benefit of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. They're so familiar with the wooded areas and terrain that it's very familiar to them. And though it looks vast to me and other people, to them it's the environment they work in and are comfortable in and they're the ones to give the best advice on how to deal with that area," said Lt. Brian McDonough from the Maine State Police.

Police say they expect to decide whether or not to conduct a search of those woods by the end of the week.
www.wcsh6.com
Developing Story: Missing Woman
State police are asking for your help in their search for a missing woman from Alfred. Police say Kelly Gorham was last seen on Tuesday of last week.

Police are searching around her apartment on Route 202. They are calling her disappearance suspicious. People who knew her say her disappearance is very out of character for the 30 year old woman.


She worked at Maine Medical Center and was reported missing after she didn't show up for work. State police got involved last Wednesday, and an active search began on Friday.


Tuesday night, police conducted a number of interviews and Wednesday they looked through her cell phone and credit card records. State Police are also meeting with the Department of Inland Fisheries to find other potential search sites.


If you have any information on the disappearance of Gorham, you are urged to call state police at 657-3030.

Posted by: Stephanie Fournier, Producer
www.wgme.com

Missing woman's disappearance a mystery to many
http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/4185879.html

(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a229/msdarthvada/07814191217_missing1.jpg)
ALFRED (NEWS CENTER) -- A large scale search will begin Saturday morning for a woman from Alfred. Kelly Gorham was last seen at her apartment over a week ago. Police call her disappearance suspicious.
   
Authorities have already searched her apartment and the immediate area surrounding it. Saturday, they plan to scour the woods that begin just across the street from where she lives.

Friday afternoon, Gorham's mother Pauline pleaded for anyone with information about her daughter to come forward. She says she and the rest of her family miss Kelly "terribly."

The search is set to begin at 7:00 A.M.

Search Turns Clues In Missing Woman Case


Web Editor:  Brian Yocono, Reporter   
Created: 8/18/2007 7:47:17 PM
Updated: 8/18/2007 8:47:39 PM

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ALFRED (NEWS CENTER) -- Dozens of volunteer search teams spent Saturday looking for Kelly Gorham, who was reported missing more than a week ago.
 
   


Searchers with dogs and on horseback combed the York County woods in the area around Kelly Gorham's apartment.

She was last seen at her apartment last August 7th and was reported missing when she didn't show up at work the next day.

Maine Game Wardens say the search did turn up several clues, but there was no sign of Gorham.

"When you search you might not find what you're looking for," said Kevin Adam with the Maine Warden's Service. "It's an elimination to get the area smaller."

State Police and the Warden's Service are reviewing the clues found. Another full-scale search is not expected, but some volunteers and Wardens will be back in the woods for the coming days.

There is still no sign of Kelly Gorham.


Curious to know what their search turned up.

I think the most promising thing is that the agency with authority over the case is actually willing to defer to a different agency that has expertise in the matter. Usually police are to 'turf oriented' to do such things.

I too would wonder about this. Clearly her disappearance is ominously suspicious. I do wonder what would have happened to a pet owning woman who was so close to being graduated and had earned such a high regard in her community.

It would depend on the size and number of the dogs but I doubt she could have been abducted by a stranger if she was out with them.

If you'v ever been to Maine, the first thing you would notice is how dense the forests are here.  I've driven by where she lives many many times,  It is really rural.  Most of this area is old farms and apple orchards, and the majority of the houses are on at least 5-25 acres of land, so anything could go on and not necessarily been seen/heard. 

 Word out in the community is they are looking at 2 suspects that may have abducted her.

Very true MsVada! York County is apx. 79% forest. Maine's forest covers nearly 90% of the landbase!

Well if this isn't a strange twist to things.......it is either a brillant move on the part of the "prime suspects" parents, or the stupidest thing in the world,  I'm not sure what to think........

+++++++++++++
Private investigator hired for missing woman case

August 22, 2007
The family of a man questioned about a missing 30-year-old Alfred woman has hired a private investigator to look into her disappearance.

Sid Carlson, a retired Massachusetts state police trooper, said he was hired last Friday. His client’s son, who he declined to identify, had been questioned by state police four times in connection with the case, he said.

Kelly Gorham, a student at Southern Maine Community College, was last seen at her apartment on the evening of Tuesday, Aug. 7. She was reported missing
when she didn’t arrive at work at Maine Medical Center the next afternoon. Her car was found at her apartment and her four dogs were inside, police said.

Lt. Brian McDonough of the Maine State Police has not identified anyone who may be a person of interest in the case, but said late last week that they had processed several cars and conducted about 75 interviews, leading police to a “short list” of persons of interest. He said the police have done follow-up interviews with these people.

McDonough said last week that the police are sure that “a single individual” has information about Gorham’s location. McDonough and Gorham’s mother made a public plea at a press conference last week for anyone with information to contact State Police.

Last weekend, state officials conducted a massive air and foot search for Gorham, covering more than 268 miles and involving nearly 40 people and 10 teams with trained search dogs

http://news.mainetoday.com/updates/014930.html

Where Is Kelly Gorham? Desperate Search for Missing Nursing Student
Thursday, August 23, 2007

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST: The heat is on — on Kelly Gorham's ex-fiance. Now, Kelly's that popular young nursing student who vanished 14 days ago in Alfred, Maine. Now police are questioning her 26- year-old former fiance, Jason. And Jason? Well, he just hired his own private investigator.

Sid Carlson, the private investigator, joins us live. Sid, now you've been hired to help investigate this. I suppose we should first start with this. What is your police background?

SID CARLSON, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: I spent 23 years on the Massachusetts State Police, and a good part of that 23 years I spent in the attorney general's office and the district attorney's office major crime unit, pornography and vice. So I'm quite experienced in the investigation field. And I've been a private investigator for 15 years now.

VAN SUSTEREN: Well, no one can certainly question that experience. It's extensive. Now, your client is the number one suspect? Have you been told that?

CARLSON: Yes. I was told that by the Maine State Police. He was questioned last week by the Maine State Police. And after four lengthy interviews at the Alfred barracks in Maine at the Troop A headquarters of the Maine State Police — after the fourth interview, they advised Jason of his rights, and which made the father very upset and immediately became a suspect. So the father called me on last Friday, on the 17th, to see if I can help sort this out. And he believes his son is innocent. So I stepped into it, and I'm doing my own investigation now from August 7, when Kelly went missing.

VAN SUSTEREN: Sid, what have you learned so far about the disappearance of this nursing student?

CARLSON: Well, I've learned that on August 7, it was on a Tuesday, that she went missing at 6:00 PM. And there are three houses together where Kelly lives in back of her landlord, and then another small house next to it. And the two people that are living in the house next to it were sitting on the grass when a small red car came in and picked up Kelly at 6:00 p.m., and she hasn't been seen since. That was on August 7, on Tuesday.

Two days before that, on August 5, Kelly woke up at 3:00 o'clock in the morning. That was Monday morning, the day before she disappeared — Sunday night, Monday morning, 3:00 o'clock in the morning. And somebody was up on the roof, and she had a couple of skylights and she was terrified. So she got dressed and went to her mother's house about 10 miles up the road and spent the night with her mother, came home and told the landlord the next day that someone was up on the roof.

And I don't know what the Maine state police have done about it, but I understand they've been down investigating it. But of course, I respect the information — they can't share any information with anybody. So they haven't shared any information with me, but I'm checking to make sure my client is protected with his rights and do a thorough investigation.

>>>>>> The complete transcript

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,294262,00.html

Well I don't know about this one at all.  Let's see, she called off (at least for the time being) her engagement.  And people are going to say 'well they were still amicable.'  Don't know if I buy that one.  Let's be honest, an engagement is a huge step for anyone.  Someone calls is off or says 'let's wait,' or 'let's take it slow.'  Whatever, that is going to cause hurt feelings.  And sorry but the neice from Vermont who was there and witnesses the red car; not good enough.  I would prefer to hear of witnesses other than the family.  And besides that police still have that car???  Leads me to believe they are closely looking for something. 

To all the young women out there living alone.  PLEASE be aware of your surroundings.

Person on roof??
Animal perhaps. All she may have heard is the noise. I can't quite see a burglar or pepping tom bothering with a roof even if there were skylights.

Red car?
Gee, if I had decided to kill a woman, I sure would not pick her up in a very memorable RED car that could be so eaily traced.

 Gee how interesting.. so if YOU were to kill a woman.. as you said in your post.. WTF color car would YOU pick her up in then?
 :roll: :roll: :roll:

A nondescript car that would fade into the background and soon fade from anyone's memory. If the killer used a red car, he probably had no intention of killing her at the time he picked her up.

I wonder where he got this info......it sounds very strange that if she hears someone on her roof in the middle of the night....why on earth would she go outside to get in her car......I don't know~it just sounds odd.  Maybe that's what one should do  :-??

WTF??

 Foolsgold,  your posts are sometimes a bit confsuing.  You remind me of another poster that used to be on SM.   MCHRME was his name,  He was difficult to read as he didn't type out his comments well and he always came off as an attacking personality, blaming the victim crap and all that. 

You obviously have never been to Maine, have never been to this rural community she lived in,  if you had, you'd know that its near another small city full of its share of crimes.  The road she lived on is remote enough with thick woods that it definately wouldn't matter WTF color car anyone had, and I highly doubt that there would be a  moderate sized animal on her roof.  I have lived here all my life and have never seen a black bear on someones roof, nor a deer or moose or any animal larger than a squirrel  on someones roof. 

Sometimes your comments make me think you haven't fully comprehended the situation surrounding the missing person.

Sorry if my comments piss you off,  but I've grown frustrated at the situation you have created.

MsVada

Well Said Angiex911dsptchr!!!  I personally don't think many people (subhumans) actually PLAN going out to kill someone.  To some, it is just a spur of the moment choice (anger) where they end up committing the crime.  So as Angiex911dsptchr has said basically - irrelevant.  And again, if that was the only means of transport someone has I don't think they are honestly going to think 'gee let me go rent another car so I won't be obvious.'  :roll:

Its unclear as to whether she concluded that there might be a person on her roof due to something she saw or something she heard.
If the area is rural an oppossum or racoon or something would be entirely reasonable although I have no statistics readily available as to the number of trespassing humans found on roofs versus the number of trespassing animals that are found on roofs.

I would admit that in a very rural area observation by neighbors would be less of a concern, though it is not entirely unheard of: simply tune in the CB channels as the marijuana interdiction trucks go driving by. The airwaves come alive with warnings. So people in very rural areas do indeed keep alert to vehicles on their roads even if the areas are sparsely settled.

Please READ what I bolded.

CARLSON: Well, I've learned that on August 7, it was on a Tuesday, that she went missing at 6:00 PM. And there are three houses together where Kelly lives in back of her landlord, and then another small house next to it. And the two people that are living in the house next to it were sitting on the grass when a small red car came in and picked up Kelly at 6:00 p.m., and she hasn't been seen since. That was on August 7, on Tuesday.


 So there are 2 people that saw her enter a red car.. so IMO  it don't matter WTH color car it was if people saw her get into it. What difference would it make if it were black.. pink with purple polka dots.. canary yellow.. etc? If there are witness's to seeing and recalling a person enter a vehicle.. no matter what color the car is.. THAT car is NOT going to be NON DESCRIPTIVE.  I sure do not get your logic about a red car? The killer would not have intention on killing her when he picked her up because it was a red car?    PA~Leaseeeeeeeeeee  :roll: :roll:  I almost have to laugh.. sorry.
 People snap... and I am sure when they do.. they could give a ratz ass about their color of their vehicle. I have heard it all when I worked at 911.. believe you me.

 TY Sleeks and its awesome to see you back posting again!!

What do cb radios have to do with this?  For the record,  they are NOT widely used up here.  They are a thing of the past.  And as far as cellphones.....my dearest friend who happens to be a 911 dispatcher for the city of Biddeford lives a couple of miles from her house,  cellphones don't even work out that way,  too many dead spots for decent cellular service, not to mention a small mountain nearby.

For the record of anyone who cares,  I know this area VERY WELL<  I went to school in the district that Alfred is in.  I still travel through this area on a regular basis too. 

Update: Body of nursing student found
 
By The Associated Press wire report September 05, 2007 05:41 PM

CONCORD, N.H. - An Alfred nursing student missing for a month has been found dead in Stewartstown, authorities announced Wednesday.
They say 30-year-old Kelly Gorham's body was found in a grave on private property in the town near the Canadian border during a search this weekend. She was positively identified during an autopsy Wednesday.
Sid Carlson, a private investigator from Northwood, said the property is owned by his client, Brian Twardus, the father of Gorham's former fiance, Jason Twardus.
Jason Twardus, who lives in Rochester, has been questioned by police, Carlson said. The couple had been dating for two years and had broken up in June, Carlson said.
Carlson told WMUR-TV Wednesday that Jason Twardus had repeatedly denied any involvement in Gorham's death.
Authorities have not named any suspects.
The death was ruled a homicide, but how Gorham died has not been determined. Jeffrey Strelzin, head of the criminal division in the Attorney General's office, declined to say who owns the property.
Gorham's disappearance from her apartment in Alfred, Maine, was initially treated as a missing persons case. The Southern Maine Community College student enjoyed the outdoors and sometimes hiked in the woods near her home. She was last seen the night of Aug. 7.
She was reported missing when she didn't report to work the next day at Maine Medical Center in Portland. Her car was found at her apartment and her four dogs were inside, police said.

Here's a link to an article about her body being found  :sad:

http://www.keepmecurrent.com/Community/story.cfm?storyID=42528

Her shallow grave found on the property of her ex fiance' in another state :shock:
well that doesn't look good for him.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Kelly's family.  I am sorry it didn't have a better ending.  I wonder if this ex has a red car, or a friend that does.....I'm sure more will come out in the next week......

 :shock:

i think they  have their man

How bloody awful for her family!!!  :sad:  I would have to agree it doesn't look good for her ex fiance' .

The ex's father has a red car,  wonder if its the same as the one seen by the neighbors.

I've got this sick feeling it was the "ex father inlaw to be"   that did this. It just doesn't make sense he's hired a private detective for his son,   on the news today he son was inside his father's trailer, hiding, with the father yelling through the door that his son is innocent!  Just something struck me that the father did this because of how upset his son was.  He's going through a lot of trouble to protect someone that seems so obviously guilty! 

Wow Ms. V.  interesting thought.  ... Could be the dad & or the son.

It sure is dangerous to break up or get a divorce these days ....

latest i could find:
http://www.crimelibrary.com/news/original/0907/0601_kelly_gorham.html

Seems to me that the body being found on her ex's fathers property puts him right in the suspect seat but with the way authorities are doing things these days, who knows?  I'm sure he is collaborating with his father on what kind of story they will concoct.  Witnesses are saying the red car was never moved that evening.  What witnesses?  More family members?  Of course they are going to try to give the car an alibi and cover for their relative because they want to believe in his innocence and sometimes they think that by fabricating an alibi they are helping.  Sickeningly, the statistics say that a very high percentage of murdered women (i believe it's close to 80 %) are killed by their husbands, boyfriends or exes.  I am just sad for the loss of life.  Frightening to think how often this occurs.

Grand jury to review woman's killing
A private investigator says he has been ordered to testify in court
in New Hampshire on Monday.



By NOEL K. GALLAGHER Staff Writer
 
September 7, 2007
 



Kelly Gorham

A grand jury in New Hampshire will take up the case of an Alfred
woman whose body was found in a shallow grave on vacation
property owned by her former fiance's family.

The body of Kelly Gorham, 30, was discovered during Labor Day
weekend in Stewartstown, N.H. She had last been seen on Aug. 7
at her apartment in Alfred.

No one has been charged or arrested in the case, according to
Jeffery A. Strelzin, senior assistant attorney general in New
Hampshire.

But Robert "Sid" Carlson, a private investigator, said on Thursday
that he had been served with a subpeona to appear before a
grand jury on Monday.

Carlson was retained by Brian Twardus of Rochester, N.H., the
owner of the property in Stewartstown and the father of 26-
year-old Jason Twardus, the former fiance.

A clerk in Coos County Superior Court in Lancaster, N.H.,
confirmed that the grand jury, which meets during the second
week of each month, will convene on Monday.

"They told me to bring all my notes," said Carlson.

Twardus hired him on Aug. 22 after police had interviewed his
son four times in connection with the case, Carlson said.

Strelzin refused to comment on anything related to grand jury
matters.

The search warrant for the Twardus property has been sealed,
according to a court clerk.

Police began searching for Gorham on Aug. 8, after she failed to
arrive at Maine Medical Center in Portland for work and a
colleague reported her missing. A search party led by game
wardens combed a 20-mile radius around Gorham's apartment
the next weekend.

On Thursday, colleagues of Gorham, a nursing student at
Southern Maine Community College and an intern at Maine
Medical Center, remembered her. The college and the hospital
are working with the family to plan memorial services, but no
dates have been set.

"She was wonderful at her job, energetic, compassionate and
always learning. I know I am expressing for all of us the grief we
feel at her loss," said Vince Conti, Maine Med's chief executive
officer, in an e-mail to the staff on Wednesday.

At the SMCC campus, Professor Nancy Smith said the entire
community was "very saddened" by Gorham's death.

"Nursing students and faculty are particularly heartbroken to
lose a classmate, student and colleague," Smith said. "They know
how hard Kelly worked to be a nursing student, how much she
enjoyed taking care of patients, and her enthusiasm about
completing the program in May 2008 and becoming an RN."

Calls to the Gorham family on Thursday were not returned.

Strelzin said that while an autopsy indicated that Gorham was
murdered, the exact cause of her death may not be determined
for four to six weeks, pending further medical tests.

In the meantime, Carlson said he remains on the case.

Calls to the Twardus family were not returned. An attorney for
the family declined comment.

Carlson described what Brian and Jason Twardus have said to
him about the police investigation and Jason Twardus'
whereabouts when Gorham was last seen.

Jason Twardus told Carlson as recently as Wednesday that he
was not involved in Gorham's death, Carlson said.

"(Police) interviewed him four times, at length, and in the last
interview (on Aug. 16) they advised him of his rights," Carlson
said. "He told me, 'They want me to show them where the body
is, but I don't know.'"

According to Carlson, Gorham and Twardus had lived together
for two years when she broke off their engagement in June,
saying she needed "more time."

He said Twardus moved in with his father in Rochester, but
remained in touch with Gorham. The two went mountain biking
three weeks before she disappeared, he said.

On the last day she was seen, Aug. 7, Jason Twardus was in her
neighborhood and called her, Carlson said.

"He was across the street," Carlson said. "He went up there (to
Maine) to go fishing, and he called her but she wasn't there. So
he left a message on her machine."

Carlson said witnesses saw her get into a car that was a different
color from the one Twardus was driving that day. Police
impounded and searched a car owned by Brian Twardus, he said.

Carlson said his client told the police about the property in
Stewartstown, which was intended to be a camp, but the family
never got beyond putting in a wooden platform after Brian
Twardus got divorced.

Brian Twardus hasn't been to the remote site in 10 years,
Carlson said, although his son has -- once with a former
roommate who was Kelly Gorham's boyfriend at the time.

Jason Twardus became involved with Gorham after she and his
roommate broke up, Carlson said.



Staff Writer Noel K. Gallagher can be contacted at 324-4888 or
at:

ngallagher@pressherald.com

http://unionleader.com/article.aspx?articleId=c2d94537-f2c3-4c98-a16f-d87cb62d57af

Ex-boyfriend arrested in New Hampshire for murder
By STAFF AND WIRE REPORT

Friday, Jan. 9, 2009

GRAY, MAINE – Authorities in Maine say the former fiance of a slain nursing student from Alfred has been indicted and arrested for her murder.
Deputy Attorney General William Stokes said the York County grand jury handed up the indictment against Jason Twardus, who was engaged to 30-year-old Kelly Gorham two months before she disappeared in August 2007.
 
GORHAM
Gorham's body was found a month later in a grave on property owned by Twardus' father in Stewartstown, N.H., near the Canadian border.
Jason Twardus' indictment was impounded until New Hampshire State Police arrested him this afternoon in New Hampshire.
Twardus was arraigned in Portsmouth District Court on a fugitive from justice charge, the first step in the extradition process. He did not have lawyer at that hearing and he did not say anything at that hearing.
He is being held in the Rockingham County House of Correction. A second hearing is scheduled for 8:45 a.m., Jan. 20, in Portsmouth District Court.
Maine authorities say Twardus was taken into custody “without incident” this afternoon at the Cole-Hann shoe factory in Greenland, N.H., where he worked.
At an afternoon news conference, a Maine State Police spokesman, Lt. Brian McDonough, said the cause of Gorham’s death was not going to be disclosed, but confirmed she was killed in Maine and then transported several hours away to the property his parents own in Stewartstown.
“The evidence clearly indicates she was murdered in Maine,” McDonough said.
Investigators are not saying what the motive might have been, but that no one else is involved in the case.
McDonough said there was no new evidence uncovered recently that led to Twardus' arrest this afternoon.
He said the investigation has been continuing since Gorham's body was found on Labor Day weekend 2007 in New Hampshire and that the arrest took place when investigators "were confident" they could prove his involvement with her death "beyond a reasonable doubt."
(Union Leader correspondent Lorna Colquhoun contributed to this report.)

Well that only took a year and a half...not bad for Maine.

http://mfile.akamai.com/12888/wmv/vod.ibsys.com/2009/0110/18451658.200k.asx

Police: Murder Happened in Maine

January 12, 2009

Police are releasing a few more details about a murder investigation in northern New Hampshire.

Jason Twardus, 27 of Rochester, is charged with murder.

Police say he killed his former fiance Kelly Gorham, 30 of Maine, two years ago and buried her in a shallow grave in Stewartstown (NH). It was at property owned by Twardus' father.

Police say the actual murder took place in Maine, and then the body was taken to northern New Hampshire and buried.

How the nursing student died has not been released, neither has a motive.

http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=9655514&nav=4QcS

The ex-fiancé of the Alfred woman killed 18 months ago is scheduled to return Tuesday to a New Hampshire courtroom. Jason Twardus was indicted for murder in connection with the Augusta 2007 death of Kelly Gorham in Augusta. Twardus was arrested at his workplace in New Hampshire. If he waives extradition, he will be returned to Maine immediately. Maine State Police have worked with their New Hampshire counterparts since September 2007, when Gorham’s body was found in a shallow grave in northern New Hampshire. Investigators said Gorham was killed in Maine and that her body was transported to and buried in Stewartstown, N.H., near the Quebec border, on property owned by Twardus’ father.

http://waldo.villagesoup.com/Government/story.cfm?storyID=142596

1/22/09
update
Man arraigned in death of Maine woman
ALFRED, Maine — A 27-year-old New Hampshire man has pleaded not guilty to murder in the death of his former fiancee from Maine.

Jason Twardus of Rochester, N.H., was arraigned Thursday morning in York County Superior Court in Alfred.

Twardus is charged in the death of 30-year-old Kelly Gorham of Alfred, who disappeared in August 2007. Her body was found a month later in a shallow grave on property owned by Twardus’ father in northern New Hampshire.

Twardus was arrested this month after Maine grand jury indicted him for murder.

Twardus, who is represented by Portland attorney Dan Lilley, is being held without bail in the York County Jail. A bail hearing has not been scheduled.

http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/97780.html

Jason Twardus, left, speaks with attorney Darrick Banda before his arraignment Thursday, Jan. 22, 2009 in York County Superior Court in Alfred, Maine. Twardus is charged in the death of Kelly Gorham who disappeared in August 2007. Her body was found a few weeks later in a shallow grave on land owned by Twardus' father in northern New Hampshire.

YAY,  Bail was denied for the dirtbag killer.....


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Thursday, September 24, 2009
Bail denied for accused killer of Kelly Gorham
Submitted by The Associated Press on Thu, 09/24/2009 - 12:20
in Portland Press Herald
ALFRED -- A judge has denied bail for a New Hampshire man accused of killing his former fiancee in 2007.

Justice G. Arthur Brennan also ruled that Maine had probable cause to show Jason Twardus killed Kelly Gorham of Alfred, a nursing student who disappeared in August 2007. Her body was found a month later in a shallow grave on property owned by Twardus' father in Stewartstown, N.H.

Gorham and Twardus, of Rochester, N.H., lived together before she broke off their engagement about two months before her death. Twardus was indicted in Maine, where investigators believe she was killed.

Brennan, whose decision follows a two-day hearing earlier this month, said he denied bail because of the seriousness of the crime and because Twardus doesn't have many ties to Maine.

 
www.pressherald.com

Portland Press Herald (Maine) 
September 11, 2010 Saturday
 
Murder trial to start with jurors on the road;
The jury in the Jason Twardus case will view the Alfred apartment where Kelly Gorham lived.
 
The trial of a man accused of killing his ex-fiancee is expected to begin Monday morning, not in a courtroom but at the apartment in Alfred where Kelly Gorham lived before her disappearance three years ago.

Jurors in the murder case against Jason Twardus will tour the apartment and property about 9 a.m. Monday. They will then return by bus to nearby York County Superior Court, where lawyers will give their opening statements.

Such an outing during a trial is called a jury view. In this case, the view was requested by Twardus' attorneys, Daniel Lilley and Darrick Banda.

''The purpose is to show the relevant spots so the evidence makes more sense to the jury,'' Lilley said.

Twardus, 29, of Rochester, N.H., is charged with killing Gorham, a 30-year-old nursing student. Prosecutors say he killed Gorham at her apartment and then buried her body on a remote tract of land in northern New Hampshire that is owned by Twardus' father.

Gorham was last seen by friends on Aug. 7, 2007. Her body was found, covered by a comforter from her apartment, on Sept. 1, 2007 in Stewartstown, N.H. Twardus and Gorham had been engaged, but he broke off the relationship two months before she disappeared.

Maine State Police investigated the case for several months before arresting Twardus on Jan. 10, 2008.

The core elements of the state's case against Twardus were highlighted during a bail hearing in September 2009, at which Justice G. Arthur Brennan ordered Twardus to be held without bail until the resolution of the case.

At the time, Deputy Attorney General William Stokes described the case against Twardus as strong. New Hampshire authorities obtained security video from a convenience store near Stewartstown that police say shows Twardus was there on Aug. 8, 2007, although he denies it.

Police also have said Twardus changed his story several times about where he was when Gorham was killed.

Twardus' fingerprints were found on items near her body, including a bag of her photos, and a strand of her hair was found in the trunk of Twardus' car.

Stokes, who will lead the prosecution at the trial, said the state could call about 40 witnesses to the stand. He declined to discuss evidence or other details of the case. The trial is expected to last at least two weeks.

Lilley said there is no evidence tying his client to the crime.

The presence of Gorham's hair in Twardus' trunk and fingerprints on the possessions near the body aren't surprising, Lilley said, because the couple lived together for a year and a half, until several weeks before her disappearance.

As for the allegation that Twardus has changed his story concerning his whereabouts, Lilley chalks that up to his client's confusion over dates during the course of about 10 interviews with investigators.

If prosecutors cannot prove that Gorham was killed in Maine, then a jury in Maine cannot convict Twardus, Lilley said.

''She definitely was murdered,'' Lilley said. ''But our position is that we have not seen any evidence whatsoever showing where this young lady was murdered.''

A decision on whether Twardus will testify will be made at the appropriate time during the trial, Lilley said.
http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020825&docId=l:1261980793&start=6

Sep 30, 2010 7:21 am US/Eastern Maine Jury To Get Murder Case Against NH ManALFRED, Maine (AP) ― A Maine jury is expected to get the case of a man charged with murdering his ex-fiance in Alfred.

The defense rested its case Wednesday in York County Superior Court in the trial of Jason Twardus of Rochester, N.H., who took the stand in his own defense earlier in the week.

Closing arguments are expected Thursday. The case then goes to the jury.

Twardus testified there were no hard feelings after his breakup with Kelly Gorham of Alfred, and that he couldn't imagine why anyone would hurt her. The defense contends another person killed Gorham.

Gorham went missing in August 2007, and her body was found buried on property belonging to Twardus' father in northern New Hampshire.

http://wbztv.com/wireapnewsnh/Testimony.comes.to.2.1938548.html

Maine jury deliberates in NH man's murder trial
September 30, 2010

ALFRED, Maine—A Maine jury has begun deliberations in the trial of a man charged with murdering his ex-fiance in Alfred.

Jurors began deliberating Thursday afternoon following closing arguments in the trial of Jason Twardus of Rochester, N.H., in York County Superior Court. The trial has last lasted nearly three weeks.

Twardus testified this week there were no hard feelings after his breakup with Kelly Gorham of Alfred, and that he couldn't imagine why anyone would hurt her. The defense contends another person killed Gorham.

Gorham went missing in August 2007, and her body was found buried on property belonging to Twardus' father in northern New Hampshire.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2010/09/30/maine_jury_to_get_murder_case_against_nh_man/

Much to my dismay, there's no Death Penalty in Maine. To the best of my recollection, in Maine there is no parole, that means IF he gets LIFE in prison......that means till he dies...

Jason Twardus found guilty of murder
 Ken Christian, Information Center Content Manager     36 mins ago

ALFRED, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- The jury in the murder trial of Jason Twardus has found him guilty of murder. They got the case Thursday afternoon.

Twardus stood accused of killing his former fiance, Kelly Gorham in her apartment in Alfred back in August of 2007 and then burying her body on his father's property in New Hampshire.

During the two and a half weeks of testimony, Twardus's lawyer, Dan Lilley worked to convince the jury that his client was the victim of a perfect crime, in which he was framed for Gorham's murder. He even pointed to Gorham's landlord John Durfee as a possible suspect.

But the prosecutor in the case, Assistant Attorney General Bill Stokes warned the jury in his closing statement that if Twardus was innocent, the coincidences in the case were cosmic or the frame job was epic.

After closing arguments were made in the early afternoon Thursday, the jury chose to go immediately into deliberations and not break for lunch. The verdict was reached just after 10:00am Friday.

http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=130432&catid=2

Verdict brings relief for Gorhams

Saturday, October 2, 2010 12:08 PM EDT
ALFRED — Kelly Gorham was a beautiful person, said her mother, Pauline Gorham Friday.

“She was the most caring girl in the world.”

Gorham, a 30-year-old nursing student, went missing from her Alfred apartment sometime after Aug. 7, 2007. Her remains were found a month later in remote Stewartstown, N.H., just a few miles from Maine’s border with Quebec. The land where her body was found is owned by Brian Twardus, the father of Jason Twardus, with whom Gorham had once been engaged.

On Friday at 10:20 a.m., after a three-week trial, a seven-man, five-woman jury returned a guilty verdict in the murder case against Jason Twardus at York County Superior Court.

Twardus, 29, showed no emotion as the jury foreman read the verdict.

Twardus was interviewed early and often after Gorham disappeared. He was indicted by a York County Grand Jury and arrested in connection with Gorham’s strangulation murder in January 2009.

For Pauline Gorham and her family, the guilty verdict came as a relief. It has been more than three years since her daughter went missing and was later found dead.

Pauline Gorham said she went numb when the verdict was read.

She said remembered thinking, “I’ve got to wait and make sure this is real.”

Defense counsel Dan Lilley had advanced the notion that Gorham’s landlord, John Durfee, was responsible for Kelly Gorham’s death, in concert with Calvin Degrennia, whom Durfee had met in jail. Degreenia worked for Durfee, lived on the Durfee property and had recently established a relationship with Gorham.

The three had grilled steaks on the evening of Aug., 7, 2007. Kelly Gorham was not seen alive after that night.

Deputy Attorney General William Stokes said Lilley’s theory was impossible – particularly since Durfee’s cell phone was using towers in Sanford for a signal on Aug. 8 and could not have been in northern New Hampshire. Instead, Stokes said Twardus came onto the Durfee property, where Gorham had an apartment, killed the woman he once hoped to marry and then drove away to New Hampshire, taking Gorham’s body with him.

Stokes, outside the court Friday morning following the reading of the verdict, said the evidence in the case against Twardus was powerful.

“It doesn’t bring Kelly back,” Stokes pointed out.

And he expressed sympathy for the Twardus family – Brian Twardus, his daughter and other family members who, like the Gorhams, sat in court throughout the entire three-week trial. Twardus’ sister wept following the verdict and was comforted by her father.

“I feel bad for the Twarduses,” Stokes said. “They’re innocent victims, too.”

During closing arguments, Stokes described Twardus as a jealous man, obsessed with Kelly Gorham.

The jury deliberated for more than three hours Thursday afternoon and for 50 minutes Friday morning before sending a note to Justice G. Arthur Brennan that a verdict had been reached.

Jury foreman Mike Dinneen of Saco said the jury believed a video image of a man at Big Apple convenience store in Colebrook, N.H. near Stewartstown, N.H. on Aug. 8, 2007 was indeed Jason Twardus. But he said the jury also wondered why the police had not used a cadaver dog to search Twardus’ car.

Dinneen said the jury felt Twardus was “ a little cocky,” on the witness stand, but acknowledged that even if the defendant had appeared humble, it wouldn’t have changed his testimony.

He said Twardus had “tons of detail” about what he did when his testimony could be corroborated and less detail when there was no corroboration. He said the defense’s suggestion that Durfee was involved in Gorham’s death just didn’t add up.

Brennan ordered that Twardus be held without bail pending sentencing.

Nancy Durfee, who testified at the trial, said Kelly Gorham often stopped by the house in the evening before making her way further down the driveway to her apartment. They’d talk and have pie and were friends, she said.

Nancy Durfee said her family has had some nasty calls in connection with the trial. She said she’d glad it is over.

“I loved her, she was like family,” said Nancy Durfee.

“Kelly Gorham was an outstanding citizen of Alfred. She was a very good person,” said John Durfee in a telephone interview Friday afternoon. She was a terrific girl and came from a nice family.” A nurse, he pointed out that Gorham dedicated her life to saving lives.

As for Twardus, “I hope he doesn’t see the light of day again,” Durfee said.

Stokes, deputy attorney general, said his team will meet with Attorney General Janet Mills to prepare a sentencing analysis and make a recommendation. He said the process generally takes a few months.

In Maine, a murder conviction carries a minimum sentence of 25 years to a maximum of life in prison.

Lilley, defense counsel, could not be reached for comment.

For Pauline Gorham, the last three years have been very difficult, she said. She’s managed to present an upbeat demeanor, but acknowledged it was not easy.

“I knew I had to do it for Kelly,” she said.

She shook her head when asked what she would say to Jason Twardus if she had an opportunity, but she did speak of his family.

“It has been almost as difficult for them,” she said. “I wish them well.”
http://www.journaltribune.com/articles/2010/10/02/news/doc4ca67fcf45a01486814772.txt

RIP now, pretty lady....

(http://media.amw.com/multimedia/fileRepository/db/472/157/Gorham_cte.jpg)

www.amw.com

Medical records of Twardus murder trial witness sought: Counsel for former Gonic man cites new evidence discovered

By ELLEN W. TODD
Sanford News Writer
Saturday, February 12, 2011


ALFRED — An attorney for Jason Twardus has asked to see the medical records of a witness who testified in his murder trial last fall.

Superior Court Justice G. Arthur Brennan said Friday he will decide early next week whether or not to grant a motion allowing Twardus' attorney to examine Nancy Durfee's medical records in connection with Twardus' motion for a new trial.

Durfee's medical records were requested earlier in a separate incident in October involving a charge against her husband, John, for eluding police. That motion was granted.

Twardus, 29, of Gonic, N.H., was convicted Oct. 1, 2010, of murder in the 2007 death of Kelly Gorham, his former fiancée. Twardus' attorney, Daniel Lilley, filed a motion for a new trial last month citing evidence that has been discovered since the trial — evidence that "would probably change the result of the trial if presented to the jury," according to the motion filed in York County Superior Court.

Gorham disappeared in August of 2007. Her body was discovered in northern New Hampshire nearly four weeks later on property owned by Twardus' father.

At the time of her disappearance, Gorham was living in an apartment on property owned by John and Nancy Durfee in Alfred. Twardus had also lived there when he and Gorham were engaged and for a short time afterward before moving back to his father's home in Gonic.

During the trial, Lilley maintained there was no evidence that Twardus was at Gorham's home the night she disappeared. Lilley pointed out that John Durfee and a tenant who lived in the Durfees' pool house had dinner with Gorham before she disappeared and were the last people to see her alive.
snipped..much more>
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110212/GJNEWS_01/702129933

 ::justice2NJ::

Judge rejects new trial for convicted killer JasonTwardus

Thursday, July 21, 2011

snippedALFRED, Maine — A Maine judge has denied Jason Twardus' request for a new trial in the 2007 murder of his former fiancée.

In a brief statement released earlier this week, York County Superior Court Justice G. Arthur Brennan denied Twardus' request for a new trial. A court clerk said Wednesday afternoon that Justice Brennan will release a supplemental order detailing his reasons for denying the request.
 ::snipping2::
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110721/GJNEWS03/307219998/-1/SANNEWS

::MonkeyJustice::

Key witness goes missing in hearing of man convicted of killing ex-fiancee

5-2-11

ALFRED, Maine — A testimonial hearing in a bid by convicted murderer Jason Twardus for a new trial will continue at an unscheduled date because the man considered a critical witness in the case cannot be located.
 
Calvin Degreenia, one of two men defense counsel Daniel Lilley had painted as “alternate suspects” in the 2007 murder of Kelly Gorham, didn’t show up in a New Hampshire courtroom for a hearing on a subpoena to testify in Twardus’ bid for a new trial. A warrant has since been issued for his arrest.
 
Meanwhile, Deputy Attorney General William R. Stokes, who prosecuted Twardus, the New Hampshire man convicted of killing Gorham in Alfred in 2007, was among those taking the stand Monday, answering questions posed by Lilley.
 
Twardus was sentenced last August to 38 years in prison for the Alfred strangulation killing of Gorham, a woman to whom he was once engaged. Arriving at York County Superior Court in prison orange, he changed to a dark suit by the time the hearing commenced. As he did for most of the trial, he sat with his hands folded in his lap, looking straight ahead.
 
Lilley’s first motion for a new trial was denied in June 2011, prior to sentencing. In his second motion for a new trial, Lilley said the state had failed to disclose evidence critical to his client.
 ::snipping2:: ::snipping2:: ::snipping2::
http://bangordailynews.com/2012/05/01/news/state/key-witness-goes-missing-in-hearing-of-man-convicted-of-killing-ex-fiancee/?ref=polbeat

Posted yesterday

NH man convicted of killing ex-fiancee seeks new trial

The Associated Press on May 01, 2012, at 11:13 a.m.
http://bangordailynews.com/2012/05/01/news/portland/nh-man-convicted-of-killing-ex-fiancee-seeks-new-trial/