Maine State Police Investigating Killing of Central Maine Woman

Maine State Police detectives are investigating the killing of an elderly woman in Central Maine.

According to a press release from the Maine Department of Public Safety's Shannon Moss, at about 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 12th, members of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office requested the assistance of the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit Central to investigate the death of a woman in Hartland.

The woman has been positively identified as 78-year-old Velma Withee, of Hartland.  Her body was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta.  An autopsy determined the manner of death was homicide.  Withee's cause of death is not being released at this time.

The press release goes on to say:

The circumstances surrounding the death remain under investigation. There is no known threat to the public. There is no further information available at this time.

 

Do you know anything that could be of help to the Maine State Police investigators?  You can find information on giving the police your tip HERE.

Even though we are only a third of the way through the year, Maine has already had several notable murders in 2025.  The list includes the February killing of Margaux Whittemore.  Her husband, Samuel, has been accused of killing her.

In 2024, there were 33 homicides in Maine.  Sadly, several of these were juveniles.  You can see the list of 2024 homicides and get details about the cases from the Maine.gov website.