OAKLAND, Maine — The local residents who lost their lives Wednesday during the worst murder-suicide in the community’s history were remembered Sunday during a candlelight vigil at the town’s boat landing.
“We come together in a crisis,” Oakland police Detective Tracey Frost said of the community.
Grieving family members gathered on the right side of the group of about 200, and some could be heard crying shortly after the vigil began.
Sisters Amy Derosby, 28, and Amanda Bragg, 30, and Bragg’s boyfriend, Michael Muzerolle, 28, were shot by Herman Derico, 42, at a two-unit home on Belgrade Road, according to investigators in the triple homicide and apparent suicide.
The gunman was dating Derosby and lived with her in the home’s upstairs apartment. The body of Derico, who was known by the nickname “Khalil” and who was not from Maine, was found in the driveway with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A 9 mm handgun lay beside him.
Derico did not shoot Bragg and Muzerolle’s 3-year-old daughter, who was found unharmed in the home when police arrived.
Prayers for the family of the gunman also were issued by the Oakland Ministerial Alliance, which hosted the vigil it titled “Comfort & Healing and Awareness & Awakening” an hour after the sun set at the Oakland Boat Landing on Old Belgrade Avenue.
Local church dignitaries, members of the Oakland Police Department and students from nearby Colby College, which provided the candles for the vigil, intermingled with a large crowd of residents from all over the region who gathered to remember the shooting victims.
Police continued to search for a motive in the town’s first homicide investigation since 2003, when the body of kidnapped Colby College student Dawn Rossignol was found on Rice Rips Road.
At the end of the remembrance gathering, family grouped together, hugging each other and getting hugs from others. The uncle of the orphaned 3-year-old broke into tears when talking about his niece and how the community has really turned out to support her, and the rest of the family.
A family friend has set up a GoFundMe site to raise money for the orphaned girl, who is living with her grandmother. Laura Benedict, owner of the Red Barn in Augusta, is doing her own fundraising for the girl and her family.
“It’s so terribly sad,” Benedict said Saturday. “I haven’t been able to sleep over this tragedy. We’re doing all we can. I didn’t know any of the people involved, but it’s just so sad.”
She posted the GoFundMe link on her restaurant’s Facebook page at about 9 a.m. Saturday and added that she would give $1 to the family for everyone who shares the fundraising site, with a limit of $5,000.
“It had 822 shares in 22 minutes,” Benedict said. “I’ve done a lot of benefits before, but nothing like this.”
The Red Barn also will host a benefit dinner from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday with half the proceeds going to the family, she said.
Oakland police and Maine State Police continue to investigate the shooting deaths and have released no new information since a Thursday press conference.
Neighbor Jason Thomas said he believed Derico came to Maine from New York City and that he and Derosby had lived together for about nine months. The neighbor said he saw the gunman earlier in the day and he had been drinking. After hearing gunshots, Thomas called Bragg. In the 49-second call, she asked for help, saying she couldn’t move.
Muzerolle, a local handyman, is the nephew to Oakland police Chief Mike Tracy.
Frost said that while Oakland is a close-knit community, unfortunately there are times when evil comes to town, and the town has really shown its strength by pulling together during this tragedy.
“Everyone I’ve spoken to since this happened have said the same thing. They said, ‘This isn’t Oakland,’ and they’re right,” Frost said. “This gathering — this celebration of hope — is Oakland.”