Maine

New Details Revealed About Maine Mother's Killing

Nicholas Lovejoy, 28, has been charged with murder in the death of his 29-year-old girlfriend, Melissa Sousa

Days after a Maine woman was found dead in the basement of her apartment building in Waterville, a police affidavit is revealing new information about her killing.

In the affidavit, released Friday, police say Nicholas Lovejoy, 28, admitted he shot 29-year-old Melissa Sousa with a revolver after she pushed him down a staircase and attempted to shoot him with a gun that didn't fire.

Lovejoy told police he keeps his guns loaded but not with bullets in the chambers, according to the affidavit.

"Nicholas said he ran over to the heater and bookcase in the living room and picked up a 38-caliber handgun revolver and shot at Melissa two times hitting her in the stomach," the affidavit stated.

Lovejoy allegedly told police that he then rolled up Sousa's body in a tarp and placed it in the basement.

The couple's twin daughters told police their "dad was mad at mom because mom had a new boyfriend," according to the affidavit. They said their father tucked them into bed Tuesday night and said the police were coming to get him.

Sousa had last been seen on Tuesday morning putting the girls on a school bus by the house on Gold Street.

Lovejoy, Sousa's longtime boyfriend, was arrested by Waterville police around midnight Tuesday on an unrelated charge after his SUV was stopped on Summer Street, police said. He was charged with having a loaded rifle in the car and endangering the welfare of a child, as he had left the kids alone at home.

Police charged Lovejoy with murder on Thursday after Sousa's body was found at the home.

Lovejoy did not enter a plea at his arraignment Friday afternoon where he was assigned a lawyer. He was ordered held without bail and is due back in court for a hearing Dec. 6.

Friends of Sousa held a vigil for her on Friday morning, placing flowers at the home where she was found dead.

"We haven’t slept for days, crying," Sousa's aunt April Sibert said at the vigil. "She was an amazing mother ... above and beyond anything you can expect from a person."

Her family and friends said they were aware Lovejoy and Sousa were having relationship problems and believed he was abusing her physically.

"He's a nightmare, he's a devil," Sibert said. "My niece was scared, that's why she stayed."

The twin girls are now in state custody and have been placed in a foster home. They may end up with Sousa's family in either Maine or Massachusetts but state officials must first determine the most suitable place for them to go as outlined in Maine state law, according to Deputy Attorney General Lisa Marchese.

Sousa's family said they are planning to have her funeral in Maine and eventually bury her on a family plot in Massachusetts.

Sousa graduated from Foxcroft Academy in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, but also spent time in the Haverhill, Massachusetts, area.

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