AUBURN – In preparation for Sarah Allen’s second trial, her lawyer is attempting to get new information about her son’s birth and first year in Guatemala.

Allen faces a charge of manslaughter in connection with the February 2003 death of her adopted son, Nathaniel. She is accused of shaking the boy to death.

Her case ended in a mistrial last June because the jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict after 18 hours of deliberations. They later reported that the final vote was 11-1 to find Allen guilty of manslaughter.

A second trial is set to begin Oct. 19.

Allen’s attorney, Verne Paradie, hopes to present new information at the upcoming trial about Nathaniel’s health while he was in Guatemala waiting for the adoption to be final.

Paradie has filed a motion in Androscoggin County Superior Court asking for permission to get statements from the boy’s birth mother, the doctors who treated her and the foster parents who cared for the boy before the Allens picked him up and took him to their home in Lisbon Falls.

The Auburn defense attorney claims he has reason to believe that the boy’s birth was problematic and that his foster parents described him as experiencing frequent staring spells.

Paradie argues in the motion that this information could help prove his defense that the boy died as the result of an underlying seizure disorder or some other undiagnosed brain condition.

“As this court is aware, Nathaniel’s medical history is crucial to the defense,” Paradie wrote in his motion. “The purpose of these criminal proceedings is to discover the truth. The only way to do so is to obtain a full and accurate history of Nathaniel’s life and family.”

The motion is still pending. Justice Gorman has asked Paradie to collect written statements from the potential witnesses before she decides whether to allow their testimony as evidence.

lchmelecki@sunjournal.com