The Woman on the Bridge

Police and prosecutors spent five years chasing a domestic violence case. Would it be enough?

KITTERY, Maine — At 7:05 on an April evening five years ago, Ryan Sanford, a patrol officer in the port town of Kittery, got a call about a van driving erratically on Route 1.

He flipped on his lights and siren and guided the driver to pull over at the Rex Motor Inn, one of the low-cost motels that line the strip of highway. Then he put his cruiser in park and strode to the driver’s window, peering inside.

Dark was falling, but he could see that the woman inside was shaking, and there were bruises and swelling around one eye, the traces of a broken eye socket.