Maine State Police responded to 471 River Road in Norridgewock in March where authorities say they found the body of 39-year-old Christopher Nickerson. Daniel Markey, 59, who owns the property, has been charged with murder. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

SKOWHEGAN — A Somerset County grand jury has indicted the 59-year-old Norridgewock man arrested in connection with the March shooting death of his girlfriend’s son.

The grand jury indicted Daniel V. Markey on one count of intentional or knowing murder when it met in April, court records show.

The indictment alleges Markey used a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum revolver to kill Christopher Nickerson, 39, on March 1 in Norridgewock.

Markey, who is being held without bail at the Somerset County Jail in Madison, has yet to enter a plea. His arraignment was not scheduled as of Friday morning, a court clerk in Skowhegan said.

An indictment is not a determination of guilt, but indicates enough evidence exists for a case to move forward to trial.

One of Markey’s court-appointed attorneys, Stephen C. Smith of Steve Smith Trial Lawyers in Augusta, declined to comment on the case Friday.

Police arrested Markey on March 1. The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office had responded that morning to a report of a shooting on the River Road and found a man, later identified as Nickerson, dead, the Maine State Police said previously.

The home at the scene of the shooting, 471 River Road, is owned by Markey and his girlfriend, Kathleen Nickerson, according to a police affidavit filed in court supporting Markey’s arrest.

Christopher Nickerson is Kathleen Nickerson’s son, according to the affidavit, written by state police Detective Cpl. James Moore.

Moore wrote in the affidavit that Kathleen Nickerson told detectives her son and Markey had a verbal and physical scuffle before the alleged shooting.

Kathleen Nickerson told detectives that after the fight, Markey left for a period of time and then returned. When he did, she saw Christopher Nickerson put up his hands and she heard four or five gunshots before he fell to the ground, and she called 911, the affidavit says.

Investigators believe Markey then drove a pickup truck to the Skowhegan municipal building at 225 Water St., where the town’s police department used to be located. Markey turned himself in to Somerset County sheriff’s Deputy Jack LePage.

Markey told LePage that Christopher Nickerson “attacked him and was pounding on him, so he shot him,” Moore wrote.

In an interview at the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, Markey told state police detectives a slightly different version of events than what Kathleen Nickerson said, according to the affidavit.

Markey told detectives that after the initial altercation with Christopher Nickerson, he left and then returned to the home because he wanted to retrieve his belongings from inside before leaving. He said he was not angry with Nickerson, but was embarrassed, according to the affidavit.

“When asked if he was thinking clearly, (Markey) said he did not know,” Moore wrote in the affidavit. “(Markey) stated he grabbed the gun so that (Nickerson) would not ‘finish him off’ and later said he was in fear for his life.”

Markey told detectives he entered the residence and saw Nickerson “charging at him” with his right hand in a fist, but with no weapons. Markey said he then fired the gun twice, before leaving and driving to the old Skowhegan police station on Water Street.

Court records show, if the case goes to trial, it would likely be scheduled in August 2026.

In the meantime, a bail hearing would be scheduled at Markey’s request, according to an order issued by Superior Court Justice Daniel J. Mitchell, who is assigned the case.