A recorded phone call played in court Wednesday shows that Stephen Hood thought Shawna Gatto might have been responsible for the death of his 4-year-old granddaughter.
Eric Russell
Staff Writer
Eric Russell has been a general assignment reporter at the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram since 2012 and has been a journalist in Maine since 2004. Because he doesn’t have a specific geographic or topical area to cover, Eric often is free to roam the state in pursuit of the most interesting stories, whether it’s tackling the big topic of the day or chasing ideas that fall just outside the boundaries of everyday news. His favorite assignments are ones where he can leave the office and meet with people in their homes or their workplaces to talk about their struggles and challenges – and sometimes their triumphs. Or to try and answer complicated questions.
Eric grew up in Southern Maine, went to college at the University of Maine and worked in Bangor for eight years before joining the Press Herald. He lives in Brunswick with his wife, a school teacher, and two daughters.
Posted inMaine, Maine Crime, News
Kendall Chick died from child abuse, Maine’s medical examiner says
Dr. Mark Flomenbaum testifies in the murder trial of Shawna Gatto that the 4-year-old girl had multiple injuries, including internal bleeding in her abdomen in the hours before her death.
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Posted inMaine, Maine Crime
Wiscasset woman’s trial in child’s death opens with dramatic photos
The prosecutor tells the judge who will decide Shawna Gatto’s fate that ‘little Kendall Chick was not fine’ shortly before her death, contradicting what Gatto told police.
Posted inMaine, Maine Crime, News
Wiscasset woman to stand trial for murder in death of 4-year-old
Shawna Gatto is accused of killing Kendall Chick, whose death December 2017, along with that of another child three months later, highlighted flaws in Maine’s child protective service system and led to major changes.
Posted inMaine, News
‘Who am I?’ The man who started out as ‘Billy Sunshine’ may never know
The baby who would become Ronald Reed Perreault was abandoned in a car in Portland in March 1937. Now, at 82, he’s scouring records in hopes of solving a lifelong mystery.
Posted inMaine, News
Report says more Maine kids were in state custody, waiting to be adopted, in 2018
The 25th annual Kids Count book also shows that the state led the nation for the highest rate of children with anxiety disorders, and that teen suicide increased dramatically over the last decade.
Posted inMaine, News, Politics
New director named for DHHS Office of Child and Family Services
Todd Landry has been named to lead the high-profile office, which is responsible for child welfare.
Posted inMaine, Schools and Education
Bill would ban use of Indian mascots in Maine public schools
Lawmakers will take public testimony Monday, less than a week after Skowhegan residents called on their school board to restore ‘Indians’ as the school mascot.
Posted inMaine, News
Some fume over mission of antique auto museum
A state lawsuit against the trust linked to the Mount Desert Island site finds a simmering feud over the founder’s charitable legacy.
Posted inMaine, Nation & World, News
Four teenagers now face murder charges in killing of Westbrook man in Arkansas
Both Darrius Stewart, 17, and Keith Keshawn Harris, 16, are expected to be tried as adults for their role in the killing of Shawn Mckeough Jr., who thwarted an armed robbery