AUGUSTA — Appearing in court via video link from the jail next door, a Queens, New York, man heard a judge Wednesday tell him that he faces a charge of murder.
Damik Davis, 25, was arrested Monday night on a charge of murdering Joseph G. Marceau, 31, of Augusta.
Police said Marceau’s body was found in a fourth-floor apartment at 75 Washington St. in Augusta. There is no indication how Marceau was killed, and residents who were in the building Monday night say they heard no gunshots. Neither Davis nor Marceau apparently lived in the building.
On Wednesday, the state filed an affidavit in the Capital Judicial Center in support of Davis’ arrest. However, the prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General John Alsop, included a motion to impound it. Justice Robert Mullen granted it from the bench.
Mullen told Davis he was charged with depraved indifference or intentional and knowing murder. A conviction on that charge carries a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
Marceau’s mother, Deborah, and a number of family members sat in the courtroom, watching the video proceeding, which was being filmed by five news media cameras.
Before the hearing, Deborah Marceau said she did not want to talk to anyone about her son.
Later Wednesday, she and her daughter issued a comment, saying, “On Monday we lost a dear member of our family, a son, brother, nephew, cousin and friend. Our hearts are breaking at this senseless tragedy. At this point we ask for privacy, and there will be no further comments from family during this very difficult time.”
Davis said he would be seeking a court-appointed attorney, and Mullen said he provisionally would appoint attorneys Stephen Smith and Caleb Gannon, who were with Davis at the jail.
Alsop said the state would be seeking a Harnish hearing to nullify Davis’ right to bail. In the meantime, Mullen ordered Davis held without bail.
Smith said Davis indicated he had learned some of the details of the crime only from Smith, who had read about it in the newspaper. The attorneys were at the jail with Davis during the brief hearing, and they heard Alsop say he would share his copy of the affidavit with them.
Davis wore an orange button-up jail uniform over a white T-shirt.
On Tuesday morning, three building residents talked of hearing a series of thuds from the fourth floor, some of which shook the light fixtures in the third-floor apartment of Timothy and Kelly Lane.
The Lanes said they were concerned that it might be an incident of domestic violence and called police about 8 p.m.
Building residents indicated Michael “Sean” McQuade, 45, and his girlfriend Zina Fritze (who also has used the last names LoPresti and McQuade), 27, lived in the apartment where the body was found. Police said Wednesday night they located the couple at a friend’s apartment in the same neighborhood, took them to the Augusta Police Department and later released them.
The press release from Maine State Police spokesman Stephen McCausland also said detectives plan to continue the investigation through the holiday weekend.
Court records indicated McQuade and Fritze were being evicted from their apartment for nonpayment of rent, and residents said the couple had to be out by Tuesday.
Marceau, formerly of Gardiner, was living most recently on Winthrop Street in Augusta.
The victim had a conviction for theft and misuse of a public benefits instrument last December. He was most recently in the Capital Judicial Center on Nov. 16 and fined $100 after being convicted of operating with a license expired more than 90 days.
In a previous case involving a theft and misuse of public benefits conviction for which he was fined $500, Marceau himself indicated in a hand-printed letter to the court that he needed to delay a payment for a month. In that note, he says, “My rent was behind and my payee said I did not have enough to cover the $50 fine payment.”
Betty Adams — 621-5631
Twitter: @betadams
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.