Man appeals conviction in Bangor box truck murders

The man who set fire to a box truck and killed two people inside more than six years ago is appealing his conviction.

John De St. Croix was in court in Bangor on Monday for a hearing on his appeal, according to CBS affiliate WABI .

Prosecutors asked the court to dismiss the motion, saying De St. Croix missed the statutory deadline to appeal. His defense contends that De St. Croix’s post-traumatic stress disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, dyslexia and a COVID-19 infection after his conviction caused him to miss that deadline, WABI reported.

De St. Croix set fire to a box truck near Penobscot Plaza off Washington Street on the night of March 28, 2018, while 43-year-old Michael Bridges and 36-year-old Desiree York slept inside.

The Maine medical examiner’s office determined they both died of smoke inhalation and had second- and third-degree burns over 30 to 40 percent of their bodies.

A jury found De St. Croix guilty of murder in March 2019 . In January 2020, Superior Court Justice Ann Murray imposed a life sentence , calling De St. Croix’s crime “vicious.” De St. Croix could hear calls for help from Bridges and York but did nothing to help them, Murray said in handing down that sentence in 2020.

He later appealed to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, but in December 2020, the justices unanimously upheld his conviction and sentence .