OAKFIELD, Maine — A Houlton man has been charged with murdering two Oakfield residents in their home in the early morning hour Monday and then setting their home on fire.
State Police Detectives informed 32-year-old Matthew Davis of the charges Tuesday at the State Police barracks in Houlton, where Davis had been transported for questioning from the Aroostook County Jail, according to Steve McCausland, public safety spokesperson for the Maine State Police.
Davis had been incarcerated at the jail since his arrest Monday morning. The decision to file murder charges was made by the Attorney General’s Office.
Exactly why the murders took place, however, remains unknown as state police were still trying to sort out the details.
Davis is charged with killing 51-year-old Michael Kitchen and the second victim, who is presumed to be 49-year-old Heidi Pratt, McCausland said. An autopsy conducted at the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Augusta showed Kitchen died from multiple gunshot wounds.
“An autopsy on Pratt is scheduled for Wednesday and a positive ID is pending additional work by the Medical Examiner’s Office,” he said. “Kitchen worked as an automotive mechanic at a garage in Houlton. At this point in the investigation, there is no known connection between the couple and Davis, who works as a carpenter.
“The State Fire Marshal’s Office also says Davis is the suspect in the three fires they are investigating, at the Oakfield home of Pratt, at the Katahdin Forest Products facility in Oakfield, and a pickup truck lit on fire near a boat launching ramp in nearby Island Falls,” he added.
Davis will appear in Aroostook Superior Court in Houlton at 11:30 Wednesday morning.
Kitchen and Pratt were found inside their home, located at 331 Oakfield-Smyrna Road.
Two other fires were reported at the Katahdin Forest Products plant on the same road, a short distance from the home, as well as vehicle fire at the Island Falls public landing.
State police initiated a massive manhunt for a person who was spotted exiting the home at 331 Oakfield-Smyrna Road. Troopers located Davis in a stolen motor vehicle on the Beaver Dam Road in Island Falls and took him into custody without further incident, McCausland said.
A Katahdin Forest Products pickup truck was found at the scene and reportedly had been driven into the back of the home. The truck was destroyed in the fire, as was another vehicle that was stolen from the Kitchen residence. That vehicle was located at the boat landing of Upper Mattawamkeag Lake, McCausland said. Several camps were also broken into and a vehicle was stolen from Beaver Dam Road. McCausland did not have the name of the individual that owned the vehicle Davis was found in.
The state fire marshal’s office was brought in Monday to determine the cause of the fires and investigators were back on the scene Tuesday continuing that process, McCausland said.
Oakfield Fire Chief Joe White said his department responded to report of a structure fire at 4:35 a.m. Monday Additional crews from Houlton, Island Falls, Stacyville, Patten and Sherman provided mutual aid.
White said the fire was difficult to combat because the dwelling had a metal roof and several layers to the roof, which allowed flames to spread. No adjacent dwellings were damaged by the blaze.
White declined to comment on any additional details of the fire given the ongoing investigation.
Many residents of the community were stunned by the shocking news Monday.
“Having something like this happen in such a small, close community is frightening,” said Nikki Wade, who resides on the Oakfield/ Smyrna Mills town line. “Everyone here knows everyone, so I am sure this tragedy will be felt deeply. We are all just stunned, because things like this just don’t happen here.”
Classes were cancelled at Southern Aroostook Community School Monday as police scoured the area for the person of interest. RSU 50 Superintendent Larry Malone said the impact was felt throughout the community.
“The RSU 50 school communities awoke to a horrific tragedy on Monday,” he said. “Maine State Police notified school officials this morning, at approximately 6:45 a.m., that they were conducting a search in the area and advised that Southern Aroostook Community School be closed. This was a precautionary measure, as there was no known indication of risk pointed toward the school at this time. The search meant closing bus routes and detouring traffic patterns, which may delay school traffic for unknown amounts of time.”
The Katahdin schools, which are also part of RSU 50, did not delay or cancel classes. However, those schools implemented soft lockdown procedures pending further updates from authorities. A soft lockdown involves making sure that the entire outside doors are locked and students remain inside during breaks, but are free to move from class to class.
Similar lockdowns took place at Greater Houlton Christian Academy and RSU 29 in Houlton.
“The Maine State Police stayed in contact regarding any impending threat to this region of the district,” Malone said. “The communities of RSU 50 are saddened by the loss. The schools have initiated crisis management plans for when school resumed on Tuesday and counselors were available to meet with students and adults, as needed.”
Malone added he wished to thank the Maine State Police for their support and cooperation in helping maintain a safe environment for the school communities and extended condolences to those directly affected by this tragedy.
