Maine news, sports, weather | Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine

Residence had been robbed before, butpolice reveal no motive behind assault

BY MECHELE COOPER Staff Writer

PITTSTON -- A man and a child were critically injured early Tuesday morning after an attack during a home invasion, police said.

The home on Stoney Acres Road where the attack took place just before 2 a.m. is owned by William G. Guerrette Jr., 48, a former state legislator.

He and his 10-year-old daughter, Nicole, were apparently stabbed, according to Nicole's cheerleading coach, Jen Moody, who was at the home Tuesday morning after the attack.

"Right now, we're all in shock," Moody said on her way to the hospital. "Why anybody would ever do something like this is beyond me."

Moody, of Pittston, said she spoke with Guerrette's other daughter, Ashley Guerrette, who said Tuesday morning that Nicole had been stabbed several times and was undergoing surgery along with her dad.

The two were taken by helicopter to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston. Nicole Guerrette was then to be flown to Children's Hospital in Boston.

Central Maine Medical Center officials declined to confirm the Guerrettes were at their facility late Tuesday.

Moody said Ashley Guerrette told her someone had gotten into the house and that she stayed in her room and hid under the bed and tried to call 911.

"She didn't go into detail. I know the (house) alarm went off," Moody said. "I believe they got to Nikki before they got to their dad. I don't know. Ashley said she heard one voice.

"She just basically told us to pray for her sister and dad."

Maine State Police spokesman Steve McCausland said Tuesday that no one has been arrested in the case. He said state police and the Kennebec County Sheriff's Office are devoting "all of their attention to finding the attacker."

Along with William and Nicole Guerrette, Guerrette's wife, Melanie; a teenage son, Ryan Guerrette, 18; and Ashley Guerrette all were in the house when the attack took place. Melanie, Ryan and Ashley Guerrette were uninjured, police said.

Police were releasing few details Tuesday. They spent the day gathering evidence from inside the home and interviewing friends, family and neighbors.

"Our goal at this point is to find out who is responsible for the injuries. And I'm not going to get into the details of the injuries, but both (victims) were (transported to a hospital by) LifeFlight," McCausland said Tuesday.

McCausland said it's too early to speculate on the motive for the attack.

Police are familiar with the home: They investigated a theft there six months ago.

Daniel L. Fortune, 20, of Augusta, and William Darrell Page Jr., 19, of Manchester, were accused of stealing a safe in November 2007 from Guerrette's home office containing $30,000 in hundred-dollar bills, rare coins and historic bank notes printed in central Maine between 1800 and 1920.

Both men were indicted in February and charged with felony theft.

According to the Kennebec County jail, Fortune was released on bail in February. A judge in Kennebec County Superior Court issued a warrant for Fortune's arrest last month after he failed to appear in court on the charges.

Page pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years in jail, with all but nine months suspended and three years' probation. He was still behind bars in Kennebec County jail on Tuesday.

Kennebec County Sheriff Randall Liberty said police woke Fortune up at his Augusta home early Tuesday morning and that Fortune said he had nothing to do with the attack.

Fortune appeared composed in a television interview in which he denied a role in the attack and referred questions to his attorney, Pam Ames.

As a result of the manhunt on Tuesday, Pittston Consolidated School, three miles down the road, was placed in "partial lockdown," meaning the school's doors remained locked in the morning. Police said children were not allowed outside to play until noon, according to School Administrative District 11 Superintendent Paul Knowles.

Knowles said counseling was made available for staff and students.

"We put all the support mechanisms in place early this morning for all students and staff, and we'll have them in place as long as we need them," he said.

The Guerrettes' beige, ranch-style home is tucked back from the road among trees in a quiet, rural neighborhood not far from Route 126.

Kerri Malinowski, a neighbor, stood on the side of the road with her seven-month-old son, Ewan, and watched as a Maine State Police truck parked in the Guerrettes' driveway Tuesday morning and yellow tape was strung the length of the property.

Malinowski said police told her there was "a purpose for the attack."

She said she was shocked to hear that someone would harm a child.

"That's what shakes me up most," Malinowski said. "If you have issues with an adult, deal with the adult. You don't harm a child."

Her sister-in-law, Michele Malinowski, of Pittston, said she heard a helicopter fly overhead at about 2:50 a.m. and theorized it was in response to a serious car accident.

She said her daughter, Kaitlynn, is on the all star cheerleading team with Ashley Guerrette and couldn't believe Nicole and her father had been attacked.

"Oh, no, no no," Malinowski cried when she found out Nicole had been injured. "We heard LifeFlight this morning and thought for sure there was a car accident."

She said William Guerrette is a very trusting person who wouldn't think anyone would break into his house to harm his family.

"I just don't think he thinks like that," she said.

"We just saw (Nicole) at the Pittston plant sale selling hot dogs," she said. "She's always so friendly and outgoing, just a really nice kid. We can only pray to God that Nikki comes out of it OK."

Staff Writer Betty Adams contributed to this report.

Mechele Cooper -- 623-3811, Ext. 408

mcooper@centralmaine.com