BIDDEFORD — After more than three years of waiting, the families of two slain teenagers may finally get closure when the murder trial of their alleged killer begins in February.

James Pak, 77, has been charged with two counts of murder in the Dec. 29, 2012, shooting deaths of Derrick Thompson, 19, and his girlfriend Alivia Welch, 18, as well as one count of aggravated attempted murder in the shooting of Thompson’s mother, Susan Johnson. According to police, Pak shot the victims after a dispute over parking and snow removal at the building where he rented an apartment to Johnson and her son.

“I am very happy that there is finally a trial date set,” Johnson said in an email this morning. “It has been three long years of anxiously waiting. Three long years with many more to come of holidays coming and going without my son.

“Nothing will ever be the same, but at the end of this trial, it will bring a closure to the nightmare and we can focus on the good memories instead of knowing that there will be a day to relive the tragedy in court.”

At the same time, Johnson said experiencing the trial will be “extremely emotional” for both families.

“(The trial) is not something I look forward to, but the verdict is,” she said, adding that she feels it has been an “injustice” for the families to have to wait more than three years for a trial.

Dolores Lamontagne, Welch’s grandmother, said Monday that her family is also looking forward to the end of a very emotionally taxing legal process.

“It plays on your feelings all the time,” Lamontagne said Monday, referring to the delays in the case. “We’re looking to find justice and to put this behind us.”

Pak’s trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 22, and is expected to extend into March. Jury selection is scheduled for Feb. 17.

Although Pak was arrested the night of the shooting, the case has taken more than three years to reach trial mainly because he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Pak’s ability to stand trial was the subject of two hearings in February and May of last year, during which three psychologists who had evaluated him presented conflicting testimony over his mental state. While one psychologist said Pak demonstrated some symptoms consistent with dementia, another said he disagreed with that assessment.

In November, Justice John O’Neil Jr. ruled that Pak was competent to stand trial.

Although the court finds Pak to have “limited cognitive abilities and substantial difficulties with English and with memory … (he) has a demonstrated ability to understand the various participants in the criminal justice system, and to understand the seriousness of the charges he is facing,” O’Neil wrote.

Another delay in the trial occurred when Pak filed a motion in 2014 to have evidence gathered through statements he made to police on Dec. 30, 2012, and Dec. 31, 2012, suppressed. Pak claimed the statements were made involuntarily and in violation of his Miranda rights.

According to an order filed at York County Superior Court in Alfred last week, the state has agreed to not use the statements “in its case in chief,” which is the time the state is given to present evidence, but may use them “for impeachment purposes” if Pak testifies in the trial.

— Staff Writer Angelo J. Verzoni can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or averzoni@journaltribune.com.