Maine Man Charged For Allegedly Killing His Ex-Wife

A Maine man arrested in Florida is on his way back to Maine after he was indicted for allegedly killing his ex-wife.

According to an article in the KJ, 49-year-old James Clark has been accused of killing 53-year-old Laverne Kelley.  Her body was discovered at a home in Waldoboro when police did a welfare check on August 9th.

Clark was reportedly arrested in Florida a week later.

He has been charged with one count of Intentional or Knowing Murder, which carries a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

In court records, Kelley was described as being a "family or household member".  The two were reportedly married for a short time, but divorced in 2023.

Clark’s attorney, Andrew Wright, said in an email Wednesday that his client agreed to be sent back to Maine from Florida. Clark is being held without bail. He has not yet responded to the charges in court, and as of Thursday, a clerk said no arraignment date had been scheduled.

The article explains that this was not the first time that Clark has been in trouble with the law.  A state background check shows Clark's long criminal history includes charges involving substance use, illegally having a firearm, and driving offenses.

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In June of 2024, he was charged with domestic violence assault and criminal threatening, both class D crimes, against Kelley.  Those charges were later dropped. Court records show Clark pleaded guilty to one count of criminal mischief this past January.

*NOTE - All suspects are considered innocent until being found guilty in a court of law