Murder-suicide ruled in Hartland fire

HARTLAND – The Sept. 10 deaths of a divorced couple whose bodies were found in a burned building were a murder-suicide, investigators said Tuesday.

Timothy Spaulding, 45, and his wife Linda, 44, were divorced after 20 years of marriage, but continued to live together in their home until he moved out earlier in the month, according to the state Public Safety Department.

The finding of murder-suicide was made after the state medical examiner’s office positively identified the couple’s remains. Investigators used DNA to make the identifications because both bodies had been burned beyond recognition.

State police detectives said Mrs. Spaulding was shot in the chest by her husband, who then shot himself in the head. A .22-caliber revolver was found near his body.

The bodies were recovered from the rubble of the two-story building, which collapsed shortly after firefighters arrived.

Police said Spaulding had left a suicide note in his truck parked in the driveway and also left behind a tape recording of final instructions to family members.

Investigators from the state fire marshal’s office could not determine the cause of the fire because of the extent of damage to the building, but said it’s likely that Spaulding set the fire before shooting himself.

The case was the 31st domestic violence murder-suicide in the past 10 years in Maine, Public Safety Commissioner Michael Cantara said. In all but two of the cases, the victims have been women and children, and all of the assailants were men who then committed suicide.

“This tragedy reminds us that domestic violence continues to be the leading cause of homicides in Maine,” said Cantara, adding that counseling and assistance are available to victims from groups associated with the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence.