A Waterville man charged with murder in the Oct. 22 death of Melissa Sousa was indicted on that murder charge by a Kennebec County grand jury.
Melissa Sousa Photo courtesy of Maine State Police
Nicholas Lovejoy, 28, who in an interview with police after Sousa’s body was found, allegedly confessed to killing her with a .38-caliber handgun, according to court documents written by Maine State Police Detective Ryan Brockway. He was indicted by a grand jury that rose Friday.
Lovejoy, who was described by people who know him as troubled and abusive, mentally unstable and suffering from a traumatic brain injury, told police that after their twin 8-year-old daughters left for school the morning of Oct. 22 Sousa pushed him down the stairs at their Gold Street apartment in Waterville. He said she then picked up a gun and tried to shoot him, but the weapon didn’t fire. He told police he picked up the handgun and shot her twice in the stomach, rolling her body in a tarp, wrapping it in duct tape and dumping it in the building’s basement.
An indictment is not a determination of guilt, but it indicates that there is enough evidence to proceed with formal charges and a trial.
Mourners gathered Oct. 31 to remember Sousa, 29, who worked at Dunkin’ Donuts in Waterville, describing her as a a caring mother and great friend who loved to make people laugh.
Lovejoy appeared Oct. 25 in court in Augusta. He did not enter a plea and is being held without bail pending a Dec. 6 hearing.
Sousa was last seen Oct. 22, putting the couple’s twin daughters onto a school bus. Friends and family, fearing for her safety because they had not heard from her, contacted police that night. Friends and family said Lovejoy had mental health issues, owned guns and had threatened to kill Melissa Sousa.
At about 4 p.m. the next day, Oct. 23, during a search of the apartment, Maine State Police found Sousa’s body in the basement.
The state’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner examined Sousa’s body and ruled the death a homicide.
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