These 8 Famous Homicides In Maine Will Never Be Forgotten
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Michelle
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Maine might be the most beautiful state in the country, but we’re not without our scaries! A state with a long history always come with some pretty chilling ghost stories, but it’s easy to read those and decide you don’t believe in ghosts. What about when the scary stories are real? Here’s a list of some famous homicides in Maine that are not easily forgettable.
Over the course of four days in 2007, Nielsen killed four people, dismembering three of them. The man was a cook at the local Sunday River Ski Resort when he went to a local inn and killed a male guest. The body was left in the woods in Newry. He later killed the innkeeper, Julie Bullard. The next day, when her daughter arrived with a friend, he killed them too. The motives are unclear, and he's currently serving a life sentence
In 2010 the body of a man wearing a hat was found in the woods of Stacyville. With a body, it should be easy to solve a crime, right? Not in this case. No missing person's report matching the man was ever filed. And, the only identifying element on his body was a winter hat with the name "Chris" across the front. He was found with a briefcase containing water, bug spray and a sweater but was otherwise not dressed to be walking in the woods. The crime has still never been solved.
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James Hicks was convicted of murdering his wife in the seventies, only to be released to kill again in 1982 and 1996. And those were only the murders he confessed to. It's believed that he's actually responsible for a string of murders throughout the state of Maine.
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Another horrifying multiple murder in the 1880s, Wagner was a trusted friend of a local woman despite being thought of as strange by many others. One night, he made his way to Smuttynose Island when he knew the others on the island would be away. It was then that he attempted to rob and kill the women, who fought back. One escaped by hiding barefoot in the snow until daybreak when he made her way to local police to report the crime. He was later caught, stupidly enough, at one of his local hangouts.
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An 11-year-old boy's body was found after he'd gone missing while jogging on a trail in Portland. His body was found stabbed, strangled and bitten. While the murder went unsolved, Joubert made his way to Nebraska where he committed similar crimes. He was caught, brought to justice and later killed on the electric chair in Nebraska.
Purrington's crimes date back to 1880 in Maine. The Bowdoinham man attempted to kill his 8 children as well as his wife with a common axe. He then killed himself by cutting his own throat with a straight razor. There was one survivor - a child - who later went to live with a neighbor.
Ormsby was after one man - Jeffery Ryan, who he believed was a drug dealer. After making his way to Ryan's home he found that he was with his 10-year-old son, as well as a friend named Jason Dehahn. Ormsby killed all three by mercilessly stabbing them each. He then set fire to Dehahn's truck in an attempt to cover up the crime. He was convicted in all three killings as well as arson.
Oken first killed his girlfriend in Maryland by fatally shooting her in the head. Just a few weeks later, he sexually assaulted and then killed his sister-in-law prompting his escape to Kittery where he hoped to hide out. When he killed a man working at the hotel he stayed in, he was caught and sent back to Maryland.
In Maine, even our islands are haunted! Check out these stories of Maine’s 5 most haunted islands.
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