SEARSPORT – Michael Nickerson, 49, of Searsport was arrested and charged with manslaughter Tuesday in connection with the stabbing death of his brother Charles Nickerson, 44, of Searsport on Sunday.

The men, who shared a home on Brock Road with their children, reportedly got into an altercation Sunday afternoon which led to Michael Nickerson stabbing Charles Nickerson.

An autopsy by the state medical examiner revealed Charles Nickerson died of multiple stab wounds.

Officers from the Waldo County Sheriff’s Department went to the brothers’ home at 4:44 p.m. Sunday. Charles Nickerson was taken by ambulance to Waldo County General Hospital in Belfast where he died a short time later.

Michael Nickerson was staying at a friend’s house on Miller Street after the incident. He was arrested there without incident Tuesday afternoon and taken to Waldo County Correctional Facility in Belfast. He is expected to make an initial appearance at 5th District Court in Belfast on Thursday.

According to a statement issued by Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine State Police, the decision to charge Michael Nickerson with manslaughter came after investigators consulted with the state Attorney General’s Office.

Clyde Nickerson, 42, a third brother who lives next door to the house Michael and Charles Nickerson shared, said Monday the brothers had been feuding on and off in recent months over the living arrangements and that Charles had struck Michael in the past.

State police may have chosen to bring a manslaughter charge rather than a murder charge because a self-defense explanation may have been asserted by Michael Nickerson. Nickerson cooperated with police in interviews after the stabbing, McCausland said.

Charles Nickerson owned the house, in which the brothers were raised. Michael Nickerson had been living in the house with his 13-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son for the last two years, Clyde Nickerson said.

Charles Nickerson recently had asked Michael to leave, Clyde said. The brothers feuded over housekeeping and the disciplining of Michael’s children, Clyde said.

The 10-year-old boy was in the house at the time of the stabbing, Clyde said.

Charles Nickerson’s 23-year-old daughter had moved in a few months ago.