An 86-year-old inmate who was convicted of murdering his friend in 2017 died Sunday morning at the Mountain View Correctional Facility in Charleston.
The Maine Department of Corrections identified the inmate as Robert Craig of Clearwater, Florida.
Craig died at approximately 6:45 a.m. and his death was attended by medical personnel. The Maine Attorney General’s Office and Office of the Chief Medical Examiner have been notified of his death.
Craig was sentenced in 2017 to serve 33 years for the murder of 86-year-old Leo Corriveau of Presque Isle. Corriveau was found lying face down in his backyard by relatives, according to an affidavit filed by the Maine State Police. An autopsy determined that Corriveau had been strangled, and suffered broken ribs and cuts to his arm and head.
Craig was arrested later near his home in Clearwater, Florida. The two men had known each other for several years as neighbors in a Tampa area mobile home community where Corriveau spent winters.
The affidavit described Corriveau as a well-known businessman and father of nine grown children. For most of his life, Craig worked in lawn maintenance in Florida.
At the time of the murder, Craig had been staying with Corriveau at his home in Presque Isle. During his trial, Craig testified that he acted in self defense when the two men argued and fought outside the home. The two were allegedly fighting because Corriveau had reneged on paying for Craig’s trip back to Florida.
The Maine Department of Corrections typically does not comment on an inmate’s cause of death. Any deaths caused by COVID are included in case counts maintained by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
