LUDLOW, Maine — A Houlton man who police said was responsible for a crime spree that included burglary, theft and arson over the weekend was found dead by police in Island Falls on Saturday.
According to information provided late Sunday evening by the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Department, deputies responded to a suspicious structure fire on the McGlinn Road at around 6 p.m. Friday.
Investigators said an unoccupied seasonal residence was fully engulfed in flames when they arrived and there was a Ford truck abandoned at the mouth of the unplowed driveway. The vehicle was owned by 39-year-old Mark Williams of Houlton and apparently had been abandoned it after it became stuck.
The Houlton Fire Department extinguished the fire.
A short time later, a caretaker of another seasonal residence reported the dwelling had been broken into. He also told police damage had been done during the break-in. The place had been ransacked, but police were not immediately sure if anything had been stolen.
As they were investigating that crime, the sheriff’s department learned a 1989 Dodge truck had been stolen from a third property, which also was on the McGlinn Road.
Several local law enforcement agencies began looking for Williams while the state fire marshal’s office investigated the fire. Investigators, including a state police detective, began collecting physical evidence from the crime scenes and Williams’ truck was towed from where it had become stuck to a secure location until officers could obtain a search warrant.
The sheriff’s department determined that evidence found at all three scenes indicated that the crimes had been committed by one person and Williams was the primary suspect. Investigators also conducted additional interviews and determined that Williams had left the area in the stolen vehicle.
On Saturday, deputies interviewed Williams’ known associates and learned that Williams had access to a camp on Mattawamkeag Lake in Island Falls.
Sheriff’s deputies and state troopers went to the rural camp and found the stolen Dodge truck parked in the driveway.
A single set of footprints led to the structure. Williams’ body was found on the property. The state medical examiner’s office has ruled the death a suicide, according to the sheriff’s department.
The department expressed condolences to Williams’ family and to the victims of the crimes and expressed thanks to the Maine State Police, fire marshal’s office, Houlton Police Department and the U.S. Border Patrol.
in your simple mind you may think this. BUT this man does have family and the family does need support not nasty remarks like this. I sure hope nothing like this ever takes place in your family…… He did wrong, and apparently it seems as he had some issues as well, but this is far from a happy ending.
I’ve known this family for over 25 years and I can tell you that no matter what the father and youngest son did, no matter what this young man has done; I feel genuine sorrow and empathy for their remaining family. I will not judge the rest of the family on the actions of 3…and neither will Creator! Would you ever want to be condemned and misjudged for the actions of your brother/sister/parent?
sad ending to some decisions gone wrong…..
snpsnp’s comment leaves me wondering:
who wants snpsnp?????
Mark had some demons in his life that he didnt know how to deal with.. Pretty sure that he didnt have a fair chance from the start.. He tried hard to over come these but was just unable to in the end. he was a great guy and was loved by many..Although he chose things that we did not agree on it does not mean that he didnt leave behing many unanswered questions and many aching hearts.Please keep his family and friends in your prayers as they need love and support in this time…..RIP Mark you will be missed
Very well written Gift2gab, Maybe it will make some of us think before we write. I am not a religious person but my thoughts do go out to you and the family/friends.
I went to school with Mark.. we fell out of touch afterwards, but he was the kid who always had a smile on his face, always made others laugh and feel good about themselves. I am shocked and saddened by this news, and while I do feel for the people who lost material things, his family and friends lost a loved one, so regardless of his “decline” and problems since school, please bear this in mind when posting.
Materials can be replaced….Their homes can be fixed…His families hearts can not be mended…His friends will never be the same…
….
what a wasted life. Sounds like he made all the wrong choices, especially at the end. My condolences to his family.
i was a victim of his younger brother and i’ve known the family all my life. i have no patience for people that do things like that and no, no one should be judged nor die, thats up to God. but it is very hard to feel sorry for him, he may have had demons but does that mean others have to suffer? no that is a choice that he made. the only thing is to forgive him and give condolences to the family and let God take care of the rest.
I was flying from Moroco in my private jet with Brad Pitt and Conan Obrien, and we were discussing how easy it is to make stuff up to get attention and drive home a point. The point should be this, a man lost his life, there are many people suffering because of it. This isnt about you.
This man has two younger brothers that are still living – and if you know this family, you are well aware
In reply to commentators here: Yes, Williams had a family. Yes he had friends. Yes they loved him.
And yes, people once had a camp, and a truck, and property they valued. Now its gone. And yes, Mr. Williams is responsible for that. There are many victims here.
He’s should of got Help, along time ago, The Police station Knew Him very Well
so He’s been doing this for a long time
I really wish people who knew nothing about Mark would stop talking about him like you knew him and what kind of person he was. Mark was a sweet, kind, do anything for anybody kind of guy who apparently made a few bad choices over the last few days. And before you start telling us who knew him what kind of guy he was and that he was well known by the police perhaps you should know that there are three Mark Williams that live in this small town. Don’t judge a person by what you hear…or better yet don’t judge at all and keep your rude comments to yourself. He has a family, he has children and he has friends that are all hurting right now and your rude comments are best kept to yourself.
LOVE THIS!!!!!! SO TRUE
Judy, Mark should have gotten help years ago, before he was permanently damaged…that didn’t happen unfortunately. We need to remember his family in our prayers, and we need to offer them compassion…just as we need to offer compassion to all of the victims involved.
Then the POLICE should have helped him!
Hi, Its was My Sister House He Destroy, He Broke Everything, Tv. and Table And Etc.
the Friends of my Sister Told Her, Glass Was Everywhere. Sister’s Lived in Boston Mass.
Broke the Windows too.How would you liked it??
Criminals in Boston tend to be professional, they steal,then leave. Criminals in Maine are pernicious, they want to steal, but also hurt and send pain to the victims too. As your sister is finding out the hard way.Criminals in Maine, they wreck the home and often kill household pets. Incidentally, the crime rates per capita in small Maine towns are higher than many neighborhoods in Boston,even compared to Dorchester,Roxbury, and Brighton. Also, as your sister is finding out the hard way.
oh brother…Dear Mr Statistics, go to boston then. While there, please look up the murder rate and hard crimes, but to humor you, I will say that maybe indeed there are more “crimes per capita” but stealing gum from a store is a crime. Compare murder rates, rape, grand theft, armed robbery, drugs etc.
Hopefully she has property insurance to cover the loss.
I wish you all would stop and think about all the time you spend talking about peoples faults and start using your time to reach out to those in need!
amen. good people make bad choices, bad people make good choices, we never know why some things are and last i knew nobody but the people making the choices knows why they are made. I would like to think we are all capable of accepting we are all made up of some good and bad. condolences to the family and friends. we can’t be loved by all but hopefully in our lives we all know what it is like to love and be loved. before posting remember there is someone out there that loves him i hope many and its already hard enough to cope with the choices they didn’t make. don’t make this any harder than it has to be for them. if you don’t feel bad for him feel bad for the ones left behind. i am sure they wish there was some way to change the situations that led to this a long time ago they maybe even prayed for it but it wasn’t gods will because someone will learn from his mistakes so they don’t go wasted. we all make them but god doesn’t. his life had purpose and it isn’t any one of our places to judge what it is. It is our place to pray for peace to those left behind to press on.
I wish you all would stop and think about all the time you spend talking about peoples faults and start using your time to reach out to those in need!
My sister is a neighbor of Mark and his family. When we come to visit my dog bruin would run over there all the time to see their dogs and Mark would be outside everytime to greet him. I have had a few converstions with Mark and from what I gathered he was a very nice guy, so the people that are on here bashing him for some of the things that he has done in the past shame on you. His family and friends are in mourning and the last thing that they want to read is how bad of a person you think he was. lay it to rest as his body does and keep your rude comments to yourself.
We are not here to talk bad about Mark, let’s just send our prayers and our condolences out to the family and close friends and leave it at that..
It’s very sad to learn someone you went to school with is gone. No matter the circumstances. I used to live down the road for Mark and his family from 8th grade til I moved in 10th. On a few occasions Mark had said some very mean things to me, I never held them against him. We all have our demons to deal with. I’m sorry his life went the way it did. My prayers and sympathy for his family.