Three dead in suspicious fire Bodies identified as residents of Old Orchard Beach house

OLD ORCHARD BEACH – Investigators confirmed Thursday that the three people found dead in a suspicious house fire the previous evening were members of the family that lived there.

State police identified the victims as local businessman Christopher Bolduc and his wife, Carol Bolduc, both 42, and their 15-year-old son, Joshua.

Lt. Brian McDonough of the Maine State Police said the fire has been categorized as suspicious, but he would not elaborate. He declined to comment on where in the home the bodies were found or provide any details of the fire scene.

“We want to proceed as cautiously as possible,” he said.

McDonough said detectives had interviewed the family’s friends, neighbors and associates as well as an older son, Matt Cushing, a former University of Maine student who was informed of the tragedy Thursday and was with his extended family.

Public Safety Department spokesman Stephen McCausland said Cushing was in the Bangor area when he was contacted Thursday morning with news of the fire and death of his mother, stepfather and stepbrother.

Police would not go into detail about why they consider the fire “suspicious,” but did indicate there are two main questions that need to be answered – how the family members died and the cause of the fire.

“They’re [the medical examiner’s office] working on the autopsies today,” McCausland said. “I’m not sure if there will be results today. We’re waiting.”

The unanswered questions are the reason three law enforcement agencies have partnered in the investigation, he said.

“There are a number of questions we don’t have answers to,” McCausland said. “That’s why Old Orchard Beach [Fire Department] brought in the [state] fire marshal’s [office] and the fire marshal brought in state police. The three agencies are working on this jointly.”

McDonough said, “It’s very premature to consider anyone a potential suspect.”

McCausland said the Cape Cod-style house was in a fairly new residential neighborhood near a golf course in the resort town, which has a year-round population of nearly 9,000. Chris Bolduc operated two novelty shops near the Old Orchard Beach pier and his wife was president of the local neighborhood association.

Deputy Fire Chief John Fitzgerald said firefighters were called to the home around 6 p.m. Wednesday and found three bodies inside before they extinguished the fire, which took about 20 minutes.

The blaze left the house heavily damaged inside, but the walls and roof were still standing, said McCausland.

BDN reporter Nok-Noi Ricker contributed to this story.