Jury Selection This Week In Luc Tieman Murder Trial
Jury selection has begun for the murder trial of Luc Tieman, who's accused of killing his wife and burying her on his parents' property.
The story captured the state after Tieman told authorities that his wife had disappeared from the couple's red truck in the Skowhegan Walmart parking lot on August 30th, 2016. He said she was waiting in the truck when he went inside to shop, but there was no sign of her by the time he returned. Valerie Tieman's picture was seen all over news and social media as the state speculated whether she was the victim of foul play or had just decided to leave her husband.
But as more details were revealed, the mystery deepened. Luc never reported his wife missing, telling authorities later that he thought she'd run off with another man, something he said she'd threatened to do. It was her family in South Carolina who alerted police to her disappearance on September 9th, over a week after she was last seen alive. A week later, police notified the media and asked for the public's help locating Valerie.
At the time, the couple was living with Luc's parents in Fairfield and so authorities went to search the property. That's where they found Valerie's body buried in a shallow grave. The body was taken to the State Medical Examiner, who determined that she died of two gunshot wounds to the head. The M.E.'s report also revealed that a bottle of perfume and bag of potato chips were found with the body, which was wrapped in a blanket, and a handwritten note with an 'apologetic' tone. It was not revealed who wrote the note or to whom it was addressed.
Luc Tieman changed his story, telling authorities that he'd seen his wife die of a heroin overdose. The Medical Examiner ran toxicology tests and said Valerie had two very strong painkillers in her system at the time of her death. Tieman has pleaded not guilty.
Jury selection is underway and the trial will begin once that process is completed.