HOULTON, Maine — In opening arguments in the Aroostook County Superior Court murder trial of a Monticello man, the defense attorney on Monday said his client shot and killed his girlfriend, but that it was not murder.
“Jayme Schnackenberg shot and killed Kimberly Hardy, but that is not what this case is about,” said Adam Swanson, one of Schnackenberg’s attorneys. “The fact that Jay shot and killed Kim is not what matters. What matters is whether the state can prove that he did so knowingly or intentionally. The state will be unable to prove the why. Why did Jay shoot Kim?”
On the first day of the trial of 42-year-old Schnackenberg — who is charged with the knowing and intentional murder of Hardy — the prosecution and defense presented their cases to a jury of 11 men and five women in the Houlton court.
Aroostook County Superior Court Justice Stephen Nelson is presiding.
Schnackenberg was arrested July 26, 2023, at his School Street home, the day after a Maine game warden found Kimberly Hardy’s body wrapped in trash bags and hog-tied with a large rope and straps in the woods off Harvey Siding Road about 10 miles from the couple’s home, according to an affidavit from the Maine State Police.
A grand jury indicted him last year with intentionally and knowingly causing Hardy’s 2023 death.
Since his arrest, Schnackenberg has been held without bail in the Aroostook County jail. He entered the courtroom filled with Hardy’s family and friends on Monday morning wearing a crisp white shirt and flanked by three attorneys and three marshals.
“On Friday, June 16, 2023, [Schnackenberg] murdered Kimberly Hardy, his girlfriend of six years by shooting her in the head,” said Assistant Attorney General Leanne Robbin. “And you will hear he thought he could get away with it because he had hidden Kim’s body in a remote wooded area off the Harvey Siding Road.”
Schnackenberg was confident no one would find her body, and he thought that without a body no one could prove he did it, said Robbin.
When Hardy’s friends and family became concerned after they could not reach her, they contacted Schnackenberg who said she left on foot in pajama bottoms and a backpack, leaving her car, keys, bankcards and cell phone behind, Robbin said.
Robbin said that two of Schnackenberg’s friends reported to police that he’d admitted to shooting her in the head twice.
In a subsequent search of Schnackenberg’s home, police found that it appeared to have been cleaned but there were blood spatters left on the walls, Robbin said, adding that samples of the blood were sent to the Maine State Police Crime lab for testing.
“It was Kim’s DNA,” Robbin said. “It was Kim’s blood on the walls of the house.”
While investigators examined a mop in the home, an object dropped out of it, Robbin said.
“It appeared to be a fragment of human skull,” she said. “A fragment that matched a gap in Kim’s skull caused by one of the bullets that killed her.”
On Monday, Schnackenberg’s attorney said the couple had its share of troubles, including Schnackenberg’s heroin addiction and an alleged history of domestic violence perpetrated by Hardy.
“Jay’s addiction ruled his life and it resulted in him spending all money and all of his time on drugs,” Swanson said. “This drug use drove a wedge in their relationship.”
According to the defense, Schnackenberg had not slept for a week leading up to the altercation in the early morning hours of June 16, 2023.
Hardy was angry and allegedly threatened Schnackenberg with a knife as the argument in the kitchen escalated, Swanson said.
“Jay tried to restrain her from behind to prevent her from turning around and stabbing him,” Swanson said. “He could not get her to drop the blade. Scared and in an effort to save his own life, he grabbed his gun with his left hand. In the struggle, Kim slammed back against Jay, causing the gun to fire and kill her.”
As the trial continued on Monday, several witnesses talked about their knowledge of the couple and their relationships with Hardy and Schnackenberg.
According to the court clerk, the trial is slated to last two weeks and will continue again at 9 a.m. Tuesday morning.
