RICHMOND, Maine — Police said Monday they know who killed two pet Holsteins with a crossbow in a Richmond pasture late last month.
Officers continue to gather evidence in order to charge the culprits, according to Richmond police Chief Scott MacMaster.
“The investigation has transitioned from the ‘whodunit’ to ‘how and why,’” MacMaster said Monday. “We definitely believe we have the brains behind it — the person who put it together … It’s just a matter of piecing together a timeline and some evidence.”
Daria Goggins found the bodies of her two 13-year-old pet Holstein cattle on Nov. 20, about 600 feet from their pasture on Savage Road. Police said each had suffered one fatal wound, and that the shootings were intentional.
Goggins said she had raised Theodore and Isadora as pets for about 10 years. She had a modular home installed on the property this past summer and moved there in the fall. The Holsteins were relocated from Pownal to Richmond in early June.
Goggins said at the time she thought she knew who shot her cattle, and MacMaster said following the incident that Goggins suspected the shooting was retaliatory.
On Dec. 1, MacMaster released a photo of a 2000 Dodge Ram 2500 pick-up truck and said police were searching for anyone who may have seen the truck on or around Alexander Reed, Langdon or Savage roads on Nov. 18 or 19. He said the operator of the truck was a “person of interest” in the investigation into who shot the cattle.
MacMaster declined to identify the vehicle’s owner or release the truck’s registration information, but said the operator of the truck is from southern Maine and may have worked on Goggins’ house. He said Monday he could not comment further on any connection to the truck.
He said the suspect — a man — is familiar to the homeowner and familiar with the area, “and may have spent upwards of six weeks working in and and around the area.”
MacMaster said police believe the suspect may have had two “co-conspirators.”
“It’s too soon to speculate whether he was coaxing the cows [out of the pasture] as they were shot, or the cows were coaxed while he shot them,’” MacMaster said, adding that police continue to work on a timeline for the crime.
Among other evidence, police await results from the Maine crime lab of arrows retrieved at the scene of the killings.
“We’re hoping for fingerprints and DNA,” MacMaster said.
Police traced the serial numbers of the crossbow arrows, hoping to determine where and when they were purchased, he said, but investigators could only isolate the time of purchase to probably within the last two years because Maine does not require crossbows to be registered.
“What we know and what we can prove are two different things and we’re working to prove it,” MacMaster said. “Our main focus is being able to gather enough evidence so we can substantiate the charges and see exactly what we can charge him with and what we can’t.”
Earlier this month, MacMaster said potential charges could include cruelty to animals and/or criminal mischief — the latter a charge that could be elevated to a felony depending on whether the damage exceeds $2,000.
MacMaster said he hopes the $2,500 reward offered by Goggins for information leading to the conviction of someone for the killings will aid the investigation.
Anyone with information about the incident can call 737-8518 or email jdonnell@richmondmaine.com.