WARREN, Maine — A man serving time for murder and robbery died at Maine State Prison on Sunday, officials said.
Willard Eastman, 63, had served approximately 21 years of a 50-year sentence. His death occurred at about 2:45 p.m. Per standard procedure, state police and the state medical examiner’s office are reviewing the death, officials said.
Prison officials did not disclose the cause and manner of Eastman’s death.
Formerly of Auburn, Eastman was one of two men convicted of killing 73-year-old Leon Michaud shortly after he cashed nearly $1,400 worth of checks at a bank Dec. 17, 1990. Eastman was convicted in June 1994.
Michaud was shot six times with a Star .38-caliber pistol that belonged to Eastman, investigators said. Michaud’s body was found in a culvert in a rural section of Auburn.
Dana Craney, 31, of Lewiston was sentenced to 60 years in prison. Craney’s estranged wife, Katherine, aided in the arrest of the men in May 1993. She testified that her husband and Eastman had plotted to kill Michaud.
An Androscoggin County Superior Court jury deliberated almost 18 hours over two days before finding two men guilty of murder and robbery.