Maine homicide number ties 3rd-lowest on record

PORTLAND – The year that just ended will go down in the record books as one of the safest in Maine, but it’ll also be remembered for one of the most sensational homicides in state history.

There were 16 homicides in 2003 in Maine, falling short of the record low of 11 homicides in 2000 and 14 homicides in 2002, officials said. It tied 1993 as the third-lowest year on record.

Three of the homicide investigations remain open, including the arsenic poisonings in New Sweden that killed one parishioner and sickened more than a dozen others.

“The New Sweden poisoning was one of the most bizarre homicides in Maine history, and it is the most publicized homicide in Maine history,” said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety in Augusta.

The episode drew international attention to the small town in far northern Maine. MSNBC and CNN had live coverage of news conferences, and reporters converged from The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and Philadelphia Inquirer.

The investigation remains open even though a parishioner who committed suicide left a note taking responsibility. State police detectives believe the dead man, Daniel Bondeson, was part of a conspiracy involving one or more people.

“We continue to believe that Bondeson did not act alone,” McCausland said. A detective continues to work full-time on the case, he said.

The number of homicides was far below the average of 26 since the state began keeping records in 1971. The deadliest year was 1989, when there were 40 homicides.

Seven of the 16 homicides were the result of domestic violence, continuing a troubling trend in Maine, Public Safety Commissioner Michael Cantara said.

The statistics serve as a reminder that many Mainers are subjected to a “veritable minefield of psychological and physical abuse” in their homes with potentially lethal consequences, the commissioner said from Augusta.

“Simply put, the statistics this year remind us that we need to be vigilant in offering protection to victims of domestic violence and we need to be steadfast in making sure that batterers are held accountable,” he said.

The number of fire deaths in Maine in 2003 stood at 22, which was close to the average of 20 fire deaths a year in the 1990s, following a death of a 75-year-old woman on New Year’s Eve in Waterville, McCausland said.

The deadliest year for fires was in 1967, when 70 people died, and the safest year was in 1995, when 12 people died. Fire records go back to 1950.

Noteworthy was a fire that wasn’t, McCausland said. Two nights before a rock band’s pyrotechnics sparked a fire that claimed 100 lives in Rhode Island, the same band played in Bangor and used pyrotechnics without the club owner’s consent.

The pyrotechnic devices used by Great White sent sparks shooting onto the ceiling just like in Rhode Island; the difference was that the ceiling tiles were flame resistant and there was no fire, according to an investigator from the state fire marshal’s office.

Maine regulations for indoor pyrotechnics displays require technicians to be trained and licensed and for permits to be obtained for the event. Sprinkler systems, site inspections and tests of the pyrotechnic devices are also required.

One change adopted after the incident requires a public announcement before pyrotechnics are used. Lawmakers also will consider increasing fines for violators.

On highways, the number of deaths in 2003 stood at 197 after an accident that claimed the life of a teenager in North Berwick on Tuesday, McCausland said.

The worst year for highway deaths was 276 in 1970 and the lowest number of highway deaths in modern times was 166 in 1982.

Two of the worst accidents in 2003 happened in Presque Isle. A fiery crash early on Nov. 1 claimed the lives of four young people, and three elderly people died in a head-on collision on snowy U.S. Route 1 on March 30.