WINTHROP — A teenage boy has been charged with two counts of homicide after his parents were found dead in their Winthrop home early Monday morning.

Maine State Police and Winthrop police officers are investigating the deaths of Antonio and Alice Balcer, both 47 years old, whose bodies were found at their home at 10 Pine Knoll Road in Winthrop.

Their son, Andrew Balcer, 17, is charged in connection with the killings, according to Augusta attorney Walt McKee, who is scheduled to represent him in court.

Public Safety Department spokesman Steve McCausland said the two bodies were found inside the home overnight, and he characterized their deaths as “highly suspicious” during a morning news briefing.

By afternoon, McCausland said police had charged a teenage boy with two counts of homicide, but he would not describe the boy’s relationship to the victims, nor would he confirm his age. He did say two sons lived at the home with their parents and were there last night.

The boy has been taken to Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland pending a court appearance in Augusta at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

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McCausland did not release the boy’s name Monday because he’s a juvenile, but McKee later confirmed the boy as Andrew Balcer. McKee said Monday afternoon that he had been contacted by the boy’s family and expects to represent him at the hearing.

Under Maine law, the state can ask that a juvenile charged with murder be bound over for prosecution as an adult.

McCausland would not say how the couple died because of the ongoing investigation but indicated their bodies were brought to the state medical examiner’s office and would undergo autopsies Tuesday morning.

Detectives and evidence technicians from the Maine State Police searched for evidence at the home throughout Monday and would also be at the site Tuesday, McCausland said.

Records at the Kennebec County Registry of Deeds indicate the Balcers purchased the home 16 years ago.

Winthrop police first responded to the home after receiving 911 calls at 1:45 a.m., McCausland said. By late Monday morning, the State Police Major Crimes Unit was at the home. Members of the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office also were assisting at the scene.

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Police blocked off a section of road in front of the home, and yellow police tape was hung across the front of its driveway.

One of their neighbors, Normand Dubreuil, who lives several houses away on Pine Knoll Road, does not know the Balcer family, he said Monday afternoon.

But Dubreuil’s grown daughter, who lives with him and his wife, called police shortly before 2 a.m. after a woman the family did not recognize knocked on their door, Dubreuil said. The woman did not introduce herself and said she felt her life was in danger, Dubreuil said, and the family offered to call the police.

The woman seemed to have come from the direction of the Balcer household, Dubreuil said, and continued onto another house after speaking to them.

The Balcers’ next door neighbor, Roxanne Sylvia, said by phone Monday that she only became aware that something had happened at the home when police knocked on her door early in the morning. She said she knew the family, but was not able to speak further because she was on her lunch break and had to return to work.

Alice Balcer worked at Winthrop Veterinary Hospital, and Antonio Balcer was a retired member of the U.S. Coast Guard, McCausland said. A worker at the veterinarian’s office, reached by phone, said Monday they weren’t making any comments.

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Dustin Nadeau, an Exiles Motorcycle Club member, confirmed Antonio Balcer was a member of the club, which has a clubhouse in Pittston. He said both Antonio and Alice, whom he called Ali, were great people.

“He was a great brother, great husband, and a great father, the kind of guy you could always turn to,” Nadeau said of Antonio Balcer, whose club name was Rev. “Ali was a huge-hearted person. A humanitarian, one of the best people you could know.”

Nadeau said Antonio Balcer was a reverend, but he didn’t think he was associated directly with a specific denomination. Nadeau said Antonio Balcer “was all about God and his club and his family.”

The Facebook page of Nealley’s Corner Church, a nondenominational church in Hampden, includes a post paying tribute to the Balcers. The post said Antonio Balcer was a member of the church and he taught a Wednesday evening study. The church, its Facebook page says, has a biker Bible study on Wednesdays evenings.

The couple had multiple pets, and police removed several pet transport cages from the property during the investigation.

Nadeau said Ali Balcer loved animals.

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Before going to work for the Winthrop Veterinary Hospital, Alice Balcer worked at Kennebec Valley Humane Society, said Hillary Roberts, executive director of the Augusta animal shelter. She worked there from 2008 to 2013.

“Her passion for animals was unmatched; she worked tirelessly for them,” Roberts said. “She had a soft spot for orange tabby cats and spent hours socializing frightened and timid dogs. Animals in our community were better because of her commitment. We are all so deeply sad at (Kennebec Valley Humane Society).”

Within hours of their deaths, friends began posting tributes to the couple on Facebook, sharing photos and expressing sadness.

“So sorry for this terrible sad time many prayers and love to all,” wrote one woman on Antonio Balcer’s page, which describes him as a road captain for the Exiles Motorcycle Club in Maine.

Alice Balcer’s page indicates she worked at the Winthrop Veterinary Hospital and was a former senior animal care technician at the Kennebec Valley Humane Society.

“This can’t be real,” one man wrote. “My heart is hurting. I pray for peace for you and the boys.”

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Kennebec Journal reporters Betty Adams and Keith Edwards contributed to this report.

Charlie Eichacker — 621-5632

ceichacker@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @ceichacker


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