HOULTON, Maine — Two Massachusetts men who were indicted last month in Aroostook County on murder charges in connection with the death of an Oakfield man have waived extradition and will be returned to Maine soon, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office said Friday.
Three residents of Massachusetts — Marcus Asante, 21, of Fitchburg, Darin Goulding, 27, of Leominster, and Tia Leigh Ludwick, 24, of Fitchburg — were each indicted by the Aroostook County grand jury on Nov. 10 on charges of murder and robbery in connection with the death of Douglas Morin Jr., 31, whose body was found on Oct. 16 in a vehicle on PD Road in Sherman.
The cause of death was not released, but the medical examiner’s office determined the death to be a homicide.
All three suspects were taken into custody in Fitchburg and Leominster, between Oct. 21 and 26, and were held in Massachusetts on fugitive from justice charges.
Ludwick waived extradition in the case, and Aroostook County Sheriff Darrell Crandall said Friday that she was brought back to Maine and to the Aroostook County Jail in Houlton on Nov. 15.
Timothy Feeley, spokesman for the state attorney general’s office, which will be prosecuting the case, said Friday that Ludwick is being held on $500,000 bail, and that no upcoming court dates are scheduled for her at this time.
According to the indictment, on or about Oct. 16, Asante or an accomplice was armed with a handgun while robbing or attempting to rob Morin, and Asante “did intentionally or knowingly cause the death of Douglas Morin Jr.”
The indictments for Goulding and Ludwick indicate that each was involved in the armed robbery, that each of them or an accomplice was armed with a handgun, and that the death of Morin “was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of said robbery.”
The indictments do not indicate what the suspects are accused of trying to steal from Morin, but an earlier press release from the Maine State Police indicated that the homicide was drug-related. Investigators have not elaborated, and police reports have not been made public.
A court clerk at the Aroostook County Superior Court in Houlton said early Friday evening that she had “no public information” available on whether any of the suspects had lawyers representing them.
