AUGUSTA, Maine — A journalist who has worked in television and as a reporter and columnist for the Bangor Daily News will serve as the victims’ advocate of the state’s first cold-case squad, officials said Tuesday.
Renee Ordway of Bangor will work with the families of homicide victims as part of what state officials are calling the Unsolved Homicide Unit, Maine Attorney General Janet Mills said.
“In her 30-year career in journalism, Renee has demonstrated an ability to give voice to victims in a manner that has earned her a reputation for fairness and compassion,” Mills said in a statement released Tuesday.
Ordway said she feels well-prepared for the job, which pays about $42,057 annually. She said she will start the job on Feb. 22, after she leaves her position as assistant news director at WVII ABC 7 and WFVX Fox 22.
Much of Ordway’s 29-year career as a BDN reporter and columnist was spent covering crime and the court system. She also is the sister-in-law of a domestic violence homicide victim. Julianne Stimus was shot to death by her estranged husband, Aaron Stimus, in front of their two children on July 16, 2002, in Florida.
“I hope I will be a great asset to the families that I deal with,” Ordway said. “I understand the importance of being informed, the heartache, and the layers of red tape and paperwork. It is overwhelming to families sometimes. It is nice to know that you will have someone you can call and get an answer from.”
Ordway has served as a member of the state’s Domestic Violence Homicide Review Panel for nearly a decade, said Timothy Feeley, spokesman for the attorney general’s office.
“There is no school that I am aware of that prepares someone for the job of being a voice for victims and families of unsolved homicides, but she has unique experiences that made her our top choice for the position,” Feeley said Tuesday.
Mills picked the right person for the job, said Patrick Day, a volunteer advocate who has acted as liaison for the families related to the victims of 72 of the approximately 120 homicide or missing persons cases the unit has been formed to investigate.
“Her compassion for victims and the families is well-known by everyone who knows her. I have always heard great things about her,” Day said.
East Millinocket resident Pamela McLain, mother of 16-year-old Joyce McLain, whose 1980 murder prompted the submission of the first legislative bills that created the unit, said she was happy with the selection of Ordway.
“I think she will do OK with us,” Pamela McLain said.
Ordway joins two state police detectives, a forensic evidence specialist and a state police lieutenant and state attorney general’s office prosecutor supervising the squad part-time. Sgt. Jeffrey Love of the state police Major Crimes Unit-North was promoted to lieutenant and assigned supervision of the cold-case and north units in November 2015. Detectives Jay Pelletier and Bryant Jacques were assigned to the unit in late December.
The date of Alison Gingras’ appointment to the State Crime Laboratory was not specified on Tuesday. Assistant Attorney General Lara M. Nomani has worked for the attorney general’s office handling unsolved cases for years.
“We are very pleased to have the unit at full complement and working on these difficult cases. As we have said over the last several years as the Legislature considered creating this unit, we cannot guarantee convictions, but we can guarantee our undivided attention and our best efforts,” Mills said.
Day said he hopes that Ordway will help improve “strained” relations between state officials and the victims’ families. The Legislature funded Ordway’s job in response to complaints from families that detectives were rude or uncommunicative or had failed to follow case leads generated by the families.
“The families are excited and grateful for the new unit, but they have had no interaction with Maine State Police or the new unit, and that’s their frustration … there is no communication,” Day said.
The families continue to push for legislation that would allow outside-agency review of cold cases after five years. They hope to see such legislation introduced next year, Day said.
The families will hold a meeting online at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10. Anyone related to a Maine missing person or victim of an unsolved homicide is invited to participate. People interested can find details at the Justice for the Missing and Murdered in Maine page on Facebook, which has 4,274 members. They also can visit the Justice for the Missing and Murdered in Maine website at coldcasesquadme.com, Day said.