ELLSWORTH – A New Jersey man accused of shooting his father in the back of the head was indicted Tuesday on a charge of murder by a Hancock County grand jury.

Alan Michalik, 33, of Sayreville. N.J., allegedly shot his father on Thursday, Nov. 8, as they were walking back to the elder Michalik’s cabin in Township 8 from a hunting trip, according to Maine State Police.

The body of Alfred Michalik, 77, also of Sayreville, N.J., was found by neighbors in a shallow grave about 100 yards behind the Route 179 cabin, which is one mile north of the Ellsworth city line, police said.

After being contacted by other members of the Michalik family who called from New Jersey, neighbors found a note in the cabin written by Alan Michalik that indicated he had shot his father, police said.

Alan Michalik and his father reportedly had been arguing when Alfred Michalik was shot.

Neither representatives of the state Attorney General’s Office, nor Michalik’s attorney, Jeffrey Toothaker of Ellsworth, could be reached Tuesday evening after the indictment was made public.

Last month, after his client had made his first appearance in 5th District Court in Ellsworth, Toothaker said Michalik is supposed to take several medications for his mental health condition and may not have been taking them as prescribed in the days before his father was killed. The attorney did not elaborate what kind of mental condition his client suffers from.

Michalik was located on Monday, Nov. 12, at the Comfort Inn in Ellsworth after state police found out he had been involved in an accident on Route 179 the day before.

He was charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants after he allegedly drove off Route 179 in Township 8 and hit several mailboxes and some tree branches shortly before 10 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 11, according to Deputy Corey Bagley of the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department. Michalik caused about $600 in damage to his 1998 GMC and complained about pain in his neck, Bagley said.

Michalik was intoxicated when police arrived at the motel on Nov. 12 to interview him about the death of his father, according to Toothaker. He said Michalik spoke to police despite his drunken state and said things that “do not help his case.”

Police characterized the note Michalik left in the cabin as a suicide note, which resulted in his being kept on suicide watch initially when he was held at the Hancock County Jail.

The suspect is still being held without bail at the jail, but he no longer is on suicide watch.

Michalik is expected to appear for a bail hearing in district court on Dec. 17. The hearing was delayed at his initial court appearance on Nov. 13.

Toothaker told Judge Bernard Staples at the time that he and Assistant Attorney General Andrew Benson agreed that the hearing should be delayed beyond the normal five-day period.