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Investigators believe they have solved the killings of an elderly woman and her adult daughter, whose bodies were discovered after Christmas 2023 at a Maine dog kennel.
William Neville Cumming Jr. is believed to have killed his mother, Jean Robinson, and sister, Allison "Joy" Cumming, Maine State Police and the attorney general's office announced Wednesday. They would have arrested him on murder charges, but he was found dead by suicide at his Bar Harbor residence that New Year's Eve.
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It's the first major update in the case for over a year, and represents the end of the homicide investigation.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
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The bodies of Robinson, 76, and Cumming, 53, were found at found at Pawsitive Dog Kennel in Farmington on the morning of Dec. 27. They lived at a separate building on the property.
Maine's medical examiner's office found that both women died by homicide, police said later — they died of sharp-force injuries, investigators said Wednesday.
Within days, the investigation into the deaths of the mother and daughter suggested that Cumming was responsible, but on Dec. 31, four days later, his father called police to report his death, which was ruled a suicide, officials said.
Forensic evidence later connected Cumming to the deaths enough that there would have been probably cause to arrest him, according to police and prosecutors. They didn't share what evidence there was.
