System Shut Off, Stabbing Victim Dies

PORTLAND, Me. — A 26-year-old stabbing victim whose life-support system was disconnected eight days ago over the objections of his assailant died Friday, nearly four years after the attack left him in a coma.

Sylvia Lane said her son, Mark Weaver, died at about 2 a.m. “He died peacefully. He never had a moment’s pain,” she said.

Noel Pagan, who served three years in prison for stabbing Weaver during a street fight in 1985, fought unsuccessfully in court last week to force Weaver’s family to keep him alive on a feeding tube.

Prosecutors said Pagan, who is now on probation, could face a murder charge once Weaver died, but they need a cause of death before they can decide whether to seek charges.

“The medical examiner will conduct an autopsy and make a report to us, and then we will make a decision,” state Atty. Gen. James E. Tierney said Friday.

Tierney declined to say what sort of finding would be necessary before a murder charge could be sought.