BANGOR — A man who’s the first person to go on trial for murder in Maine since the start of the pandemic fatally shot the victim because she’d insulted the mother of his children, prosecutors said Thursday.

Carine Reeves became angrier and angrier about the insults from Sally Shaw from the backseat of a rental car until he stopped, pulled Shaw out, dragged her to the side of the road, and shot her in the head, Assistant Attorney General Megan Elam told jurors.

Reeves is charged in the 2017 killing of Shaw, who was left on the roadside in Cherryfield, in eastern Maine.

Investigators say Reeves, of New York, was involved in a love triangle with Shaw, of New Gloucester, and Quaneysha Greeley of Lewiston. Reeves and Greeley were arrested in New York after the killing.

Greeley will testify for the state in exchange for a plea agreement. Reeves’ defense attorney, Jack Baldacci, suggested she’s the killer, not Reeves.

“Members of the jury, you are not going to like Carine Reeves. Carine Reeves was involved in drugs. He and Sally sold drugs throughout Maine. They made a lot of money doing so. But Carine Reeves is not a murderer,” Baldacci said.

Before the trial, Reeves, who’s Black, told a judge that wearing a mask during the trial held during a pandemic could be prejudicial. His attorney said masks are associated with criminals.

Justice Harold Stewart II denied his motion and Reeves wore a mask in the courtroom on Thursday.