A courtroom melee erupted on April 12, 2024, during the sentencing of Jason Servil for the murder of Alice Abbott, inset, in Maine when Abbott’s brother attacked Servil. A corrections officer used a Taser to subdue the brother (far right) as Servil (in the orange jumpsuit) looks on. (Abbott: Obituary; Screenshot: WABI/YouTube)
The brother of a woman who was stabbed nearly 100 times attacked his sister’s convicted murderer, leading to a courtroom melee in Maine.
A judge Friday had just sentenced 20-year-old Jason Servil to 45 years in prison in the July 2022 death of Alice “Allie” Abbott. According to a report in the courtroom by the Portland Press Herald, defense attorneys and prosecutors were having a sidebar with the judge when Abbott’s brother left the courtroom gallery and crossed the bar to attack Servil.
Chaos ensued.
A correctios officer used a Taser to subdue the brother, video of the ordeal showed. Other family members also crossed the bar but were rebuffed by cops.
“He deserves to die,” a family member yelled repeatedly.
Abbott’s mother, also named Alice Abbott, who is white, repeatedly used a racial epithet tot refer to Servil, who is Black, the Press Herald reported.
Servil went untouched and watched the melee break out in front of him as he was handcuffed and wearing an orange jail jumpsuit. Cops took Abbott’s brother into custody, according to the Press Herald.
“Unlike anything I have ever seen,” Maine Assistant Attorney General Bud Ellis, a lawyer for nearly 40 years, told the Press Herald.
A man who had been staying the night on the property, which was owned by Abbott’s parents, called Skowhegan police around 5:39 a.m. July 16, 2022, to report an assault on the 900 block of Canaan Road, the Maine State Police said at the time. Police arrived to find the caller suffering from a head injury. Cops then found Abbott dead. Paramedics took him to the hospital but he survived his injuries. Cops arrested Servil later that day on a murder charge.
The Press Herald reported Servil and Abbott had dated for a short period of time, but she broke it off. Servil broke into a jealous rage and stabbed Abbott to death. He pleaded guilty in January.
According to her obituary, Abbott enjoyed hanging out with family, baking and the outdoors.
“Allie was beautiful, spontaneous and had laugh and smile that could light up the room. She was a fiercely strong woman with a kind gentle soul,” the obit said.
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