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The Orrington man accused of murdering his infant daughter was set to face trial next month for domestic violence charges.
Shawn Samuels, 24, was indicted on six charges of domestic violence assault, stalking and restraint in May 2025, according to court records obtained by the Bangor Daily News.
Samuels was previously indicted on two counts of domestic violence aggravated assault, two counts of domestic violence assaults, one criminal restraint and one domestic violence stalking, all occurring in 2022 and 2023.
Samuels was out of jail on bail conditions when his 12-week-old daughter, Lyla Samuels, died in the hospital on Sunday. Samuels is charged with murder in his daughter’s death and made his first appearance in Penobscot County court Wednesday, where a judge set his bail at $250,000.
Lyla Samuels had four broken ribs, brain bleeding and retinal hemorrhages at the time of her death on Sunday, an autopsy conducted by the state’s chief medical examiner found.
After Shawn Samuels was arrested for domestic violence aggravated assault in Ellsworth in March, one of his previous partners came forward reporting assaults that occurred in 2022 and 2023, according to court documents.
Samuels would strangle and injure that partner during their on-and-off relationship between 2021 and 2023, according to court documents. The BDN does not name victims of domestic violence without their consent.
Between 2022 and 2023, Samuels attempted to strangle his partner “10 to 15 times,” scaring her to the point that she told him she thought he would kill her, the affidavit said.
During a time when the two weren’t dating, Samuels would stalk the woman by following her around town in his car and driving by her house located on a cul-de-sac, according to the affidavit.
Starting in 2022, Samuels would physically restrain the woman to make sure she couldn’t leave during arguments.
In one instance, Samuels picked up the woman and threw her out of his apartment, breaking her middle finger when she hit the ground, according to the affidavit.
Leah Collins, the mother of Lyla Samuels, told police on Jan. 19 that Samuels could “get angry fast” but said there was no history of abuse or arguments in their relationship, according to the affidavit.
A tenant in a neighboring apartment said they could hear Samuels and Collins arguing in November about if he had hurt Lyla Samuels because something seemed wrong with her, the neighbor told police, according to the affidavit.
Samuels had not yet posted bail and was being held at the Penobscot County Jail as of Thursday afternoon. He is scheduled to appear in court again next month, WABI reported.