CARRABASSETT VALLEY, Maine — A Maine man has been arrested and charged with murder following the shooting death of a Connecticut woman, state police said Tuesday.
Austin Doucette, 24, of Carrabassett Valley, was arrested on Monday night in connection with the murder of Makayla Rose Desantis, 23, of Colchester, Connecticut, state police said in a statement.
On Sunday, at approximately 7:30 p.m., the Franklin County Regional Communications Center received a 911 call reporting the shooting of Desantis, state police said.
First responders transported Desantis to MaineHealth Franklin Hospital in Farmington before transporting her to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she later died.
Investigators learned that Desantis suffered her injuries at a home on Left Bank in Carrabassett Valley, state police said.
Makayla Desantis was two months away from her 24th birthday when she was killed, according to a GoFundMe started by her sibling, Max DeSantis.
“My sister was shot and killed by somebody who was supposed to take care of her and remind her that she was loved every day. Her life was taken by her boyfriend of 7, almost 8, years,” Max Desantis wrote.
“Makayla was the most heartfelt, well-minded woman I’ve ever been around,” Max Desantis wrote. “She was the best big sister and the greatest role model I could’ve asked for, and was the most loving girl, who loved to bake for her loved ones, loved to do crafts in her free time, loved to paint, and enjoyed going to work every day and being around people who supported her and loved her for who she was.”
“Despite being sisters and going at it sometimes, I have no words for what has happened to her, what she could’ve been feeling in that moment. I never imagined I’d have her taken away from me this soon, or ever,” Max Desantis wrote. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to have her back. Makayla did not deserve what happened to her.”
The case is being investigated by the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit with assistance from the Carrabassett Valley Police Department and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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