Missing-38yr.old Donna Paradis-Lewiston, Maine-last seen 10/23/07(BODY FOUND)
MsVada:
I was too. When I heard they were searching this area, I realized it is a portion of the city that is pretty wooded. I sure hope they catch whomever did this.
Nut44x4:
City killing probed
By Mark LaFlamme , Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
LEWISTON - Police discovered a body in a shallow grave behind the Promenade Mall on Monday and believe it to be that of 38-year-old Donna Paradis.
With the discovery shortly after noon, what was once a missing person investigation is now being handled as a homicide, police said.
"Obviously, our goal now is to find out who's responsible for her death," said Maine Department of Public Safety Spokesman Stephen McCausland.
The body was found buried near abandoned railroad tracks along an all-terrain vehicle trail, police said. The wooded area is off the dead-end portions of Summit Avenue and Rosedale Street.
The cause of death was not immediately known. The body was taken to the Maine Medical Examiner's Office for positive identification and an examination for clues.
"In all likelihood, we believe it is probably her," McCausland said.
Paradis, more than seven months pregnant and the mother of two daughters, had been missing since Oct. 23. Lewiston police found her body Monday after days of searching in the area behind the Promenade Mall.
The spot where the body was found is less than a mile from Affiliated Computer Services on East Avenue, one of two offices where Paradis worked. Lewiston police have interviewed co-workers at ACS as well as the Sun Journal, where she worked nights.
By Monday night, no arrests had been made. But police said they have been following up on several leads generated since Paradis was reported missing.
"There has been an incredible amount of work done so far," McCausland said. "Both agencies have compiled a great deal of information."
Last week, information in the case steered Lewiston police to the area behind the Cavalier Bingo Hall on the backside of the Promenade Mall. Investigators began to search the area and found items believed to be linked to Paradis.
Police did not specify what those items were, but the discovery prompted them to broaden the search and to invite State Police, the Medical Examiner's Office and the Maine Wardens Service to join the investigation.
After a day of searching with cadaver-sniffing dogs on Sunday, Lewiston police discovered the shallow grave in the early afternoon Monday. It was dark before the body was unearthed and taken away. Evidence technicians were examining the dirt and surrounding area as part of the investigation.
It was not known Monday how long the body had been in the area where it was found. The spot is accessible by a narrow dirt lane just wide enough to accommodate a small car or truck. Police said they didn't know if Paradis was killed near the abandoned tracks, or whether her body was moved there.
By mid-afternoon, the Paradis family was notified that a body had been found. They were told that it was most likely that of Donna Paradis.
"If it is her, I hate whoever did this to her," said Jeanette Paradis, Donna's 17-year-old daughter.
Friends at the Sun Journal said the night before Paradis disappeared, she complained of a medical problem possibly related to her pregnancy. They also said she appeared agitated as a co-worker took her to Central Maine Medical Center.
"To me, she seemed very nervous," said Sandra Bruno, customer service manager at the newspaper who took Paradis to the hospital that night. "It seemed like something was bothering her."
That was the last time any of her co-workers from the Sun Journal saw Paradis. Police said there was no indication that she ever went into the hospital seeking medical treatment.
"She did her work. She was very quiet," Bruno said Monday night. "We didn't know her very well, but this is affecting all of us. It really bothers us."
Paradis does not own a car, according to those who know her. She often walked to work but avoided Kennedy Park at night. Occasionally, she took a city bus from her her job at ACS back to downtown Lewiston. She typically got rides home from co-workers at the end of her shift.
"She walked an awful lot," said Amy Lanois, a friend and colleague at the Sun Journal. "She would take the bus from her other job and then walk here from the bus station. She told me she was trying to buy a car from somebody."
Lewiston police Sgt. David St. Pierre said his department interviewed the people close to Paradis and searched locations she was known to frequent when they began investigating her disappearance.
As they searched for Paradis, police also examined the circumstances of her personal life.
Earlier this year, Paradis was divorced following a 10-year marriage. In the spring, she flew to Syria, in the Middle East, where she married a man she had met on the Internet, according to friends and family members.
They said Paradis was pregnant when she came back to the United States but her new husband remained in Syria.
"She didn't talk about that a lot," Lanois said. "She was friendly, but she was quiet."
The report from the Medical Examiner's Office was expected to be released today. State Police are keeping their detectives in Lewiston to assist local police with the case.
"Obviously," McCausland said, "it's still very early in this phase of the investigation."
Comments
Posted By:Lynda at November 13, 2007 7:27 AM (Suggest Removal)
My heart felt sympathies to her family. I hope that they find and convict whomever did this. They didn't only murder one person, they murdered 2.
| Add your comments
Posted By:cad yahoo at November 13, 2007 7:29 AM (Suggest Removal)
how sad. what is happening to this world. Sympathies to her family. God bless.
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http://www.sunjournal.com/story/238227-3/LewistonAuburn/City_killing_probed/
MumInOhio:
Thanks Nut...I was wondering how they found her. So sad she has 12 and 17 year old daughters.
MsVada:
Co-Worker Charged With Murder In Woman's Death
LEWISTON, Maine -- Lewiston police on Tuesday announced an arrest in the death of a Lewiston woman whose body was found last week in a shallow grave.
Richard Dwyer, 44, of Canton, has been charged with murder in connection with the death of Donna Paradis.
Paradis, 38, was seven months pregnant at the time of her disappearance on Oct. 23. Her body was discovered last Monday near an all-terrain vehicle trail running along railroad tracks behind the Promenade Mall.
An autopsy conducted on Tuesday by the State Medical Examiner's Office determined that the body was Paradis', though the cause of death was withheld at the request of the Attorney General's Office.
Police on Tuesday said Dwyer worked with Paradis at Affiliated Computer Services.
According to an affidavit filed in Dwyer’s arrest, Dwyer had been helping Paradis to buy a car. It said that on the day of her disappearance, Dwyer slipped Paradis a note saying she could use his car. After leaving work, the affidavit said Paradis went to Northeast Bank on Lisbon Street and purchased a $400 money order, then returned a few minutes later to cash it.
A co-worker later reported seeing her cross the street near the Promenade Mall.
Police said Paradis had been strangled and may have been sexually assaulted.
They said they traced a pickaxe and shovel found near the shallow grave to Dwyer through surveillance video at the stores where they were purchased.
Dwyer was served arrest papers at the Androscoggin County Jail, where he has been held since early November in connection with a convenience store robbery in September
Nut44x4:
Paradis Update
November 20, 2007
Police have arrested a co-worker in connection with the death of a pregnant woman in Lewiston. Donna Paradis (38) disappeared last month. Her co-worker, Richard Dwyer of Canton, is charged with murder. Paradis' body was found earlier this month in a shallow grave behind the Promenade Mall in Lewiston. She was 8 months pregnant and authorities say she was strangled. Dwyer is in the Androscoggin county jail on unrelated robbery charges. He's expected to make his first court appearance Wendesday in Androscoggin County Superior Court.
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