WATERVILLE — As police continued to investigate the June 6 shooting of Joseph Tracy at a Waterville apartment, officials with the state Office of Chief Medical Examiner declined Tuesday to provide further information on the cause of Tracy’s death.
Joseph Tracy Provided by Jessica Poulin
“As this is still an active investigation, the final cause of death is currently withheld per the attorney general,” a spokesman for the Medical Examiner’s Office said Tuesday afternoon.
No one had been arrested in the case as of Tuesday.
Tracy, 33, was shot between the lower neck and shoulder blades at Home Place Inn at 150 College Ave. He was taken to Thayer Center for Health in Waterville, and later flown by a LifeFlight of Maine helicopter to Maine Medical Center in Portland, according to his father, Dan Tracy.
Joseph Tracy died two days later, on June 8, at Androscoggin Hospice House in Auburn, Dan Tracy said June 9.
The elder Tracy said the bullet was lodged in his son’s spine and a team of neurologists said he would likely be a paraplegic, had he lived.
Waterville and Maine State police have shared few details of their investigation into the shooting. Steve McCausland, spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety, said Tuesday there were no new developments in the case.
“It remains an active investigation by both State and Waterville police,” McCausland said.
Chief Joseph Massey of the Waterville Police Department also said Tuesday afternoon he had no new information related to the case.
Meanwhile, those who knew Joseph Tracy say they are devastated by his death and frustrated that the case is unresolved.
Chris Flynn, Joe Tracy’s best friend for about seven years, said he does not know how he died and police are understandably not releasing information about their investigation.
“There’s a lot of confusion over what happened and I don’t want to hurt the investigation by saying anything, but I have some (theories) on it,” Flynn said Tuesday evening in a phone interview.
He said Tracy’s death “doesn’t make any sense at all.”
“It’s incredibly frustrating,” Flynn said, adding that he hopes police find answers.
“That would help, just to know there’s some justice served,” he said. “I felt when he died that this may never get solved.”
Flynn said he met Joseph Tracy when he (Flynn) was renting a house in West Gardiner and Tracy was living up the road.
“We just started doing jobs together,” Flynn said. “It actually started out when he watched a dog for me and we just kind of clicked right off when I saw how hard he worked. I respected him for that. We started doing odd jobs together, firewood and tree-felling. We became roommates. I’m a tattoo artist and I would not be where I am without him.”
Flynn said he thinks the story going around that police were looking for a white car with out-of state plates after the shooting June 6 is a result of some confusion. Joseph Tracy was renting a white car at the time because he had been in an accident recently and his own car was destroyed. Flynn said the car he was renting had Pennsylvania plates.
Flynn described Tracy as having “a huge heart and he would do anything for the people he cared about.”
“He was so giving and so loving to everybody, but I don’t feel he loved himself the same way,” Flynn said. “He was a great guy and didn’t give himself enough credit.”
Flynn said Tracy was supposed to be at Flynn’s house June 6 because he was going to watch his house while Flynn and his family went camping at Lake Pemaquid, but he could not reach him. Then he called Dan Tracy, Joseph Tracy’s father, who told him what had happened, he said.
Flynn said he got to speak with Joe Tracy on Facetime before he died. He tried to convince him to remove his “do not resuscitate” order, even if he were to be paralyzed. Flynn told Tracy he would still have a good life and that his (Flynn’s) kids wanted to see him.
“I told him I loved him, and I told him he was my best friend,” Flynn recalled. “He said he loved me, and he turned to the nurse and said: ‘Chris cares about me. He takes care of me. He makes sure I’m OK.'”
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