AUGUSTA — The Belfast man accused of killing his wife and attacking his mother has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of murder, aggravated attempted murder and aggravated assault.

Samuel Whittemore, 34, was visiting his parents’ home in Readfield on Feb. 19 with his wife, Margaux Whittemore, 32, when, police allege, he killed his wife and then strangled his mother, Dorothy “Darcy” Whittemore, injuring her.

Dorothy Whittemore was taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston where she was initially listed in critical condition. Shannon Moss, spokesperson for Maine Department of Public Safety, said her condition later improved.

Samuel Whittemore has been indicted by a Kennebec County grand jury March 19 on charges of intentional or knowing or depraved indifference murder, aggravated attempted murder and aggravated assault.

The murder charge alleges he killed his wife, Margaux.

The assault and attempted murder charges involve his mother, with the indictment alleging he “did intentionally attempt to cause the death of another human being, namely Dorothy Whittemore, by strangling Dorothy Whittemore and at the time of the strangulation Samuel Whittemore intended to cause multiple deaths.”

Whittemore was scheduled to make his initial court appearance in late February but that proceeding was not held after his attorney, Walter McKee, reported Whittemore was not competent to appear in court.

Superior Court Justice Daniel Mitchell ordered a mental health evaluation of Whittemore to determine his competency for his case to proceed. The results of that evaluation, by the State Forensic Service, have not been released. Some documents in the case, including the probable cause affidavit, have been sealed and are not available to the public.

Whittemore remains in jail without bail. McKee said Tuesday he had no new details about the case to share and had no comment.

Whittemore initially fled the home on Giles Road in Readfield but was taken into custody a short distance away. He was charged with murder Feb. 20 after an autopsy determined the death of Margaux Whittemore was a homicide, although the specific cause of her death was not released by police.

Maine State Police and Winthrop police responded to the scene at 10:02 a.m. Feb. 19 after a 911 call alerted them to an incident on Giles Road in Readfield.

The suspect’s mother, Dorothy Whittemore — who co-owns the home with her husband, Henry, according to property tax records — was found injured inside the home by responding officers.

Henry Whittemore, the suspect’s father, was not home at the time of the incident, Moss said, but arrived shortly thereafter.

Samuel Whittemore was taken first to MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta for evaluation Feb. 19 before being moved to the Kennebec County jail and charged with murder.

Social media posts indicate Samuel and Margaux wed in September 2024 and that Margaux Whittemore’s last name before her marriage was Nguyen.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Samuel Whittemore was most recently self-employed as lead engineer for Coral Gardeners, where he designed, built and deployed underwater equipment used to monitor and improve coral reef restoration.

He also lists himself as the captain and owner of Havili, a 50-foot sailboat, and, from July 2020 to July 2021, as a former senior avionics systems engineer for SpaceX. The site states he has a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Margaux Whittemore’s LinkedIn profile indicates she was an international marketing and strategy consultant, project coordinator and branding, wellness and communication manager and is a former resident of France, where she earned a Master of Science degree in international marketing and business development from SKEMA Business School.