Court documents allege Biddeford landlord was shot multiple times, at least once at close range
Sep. 16—A Biddeford man suspected of killing his landlord Tuesday shot the man several times in the chest on the porch of his apartment building, went inside briefly, then came back out and shot him once more in the head, according to court documents.
The victim's girlfriend witnessed the killing and was consoling him when the final gunshot was fired at close range, police allege.
Randal J. Hennessey, 30, is scheduled to appear in court Thursday afternoon to face a murder charge in the killing of Douglas Michaud Jr., 31. Hennessey was arrested in New Hampshire several hours after the shooting and has been in custody since.
An affidavit filed in York County Superior Court in Alfred details the circumstances that led to the shooting.
Biddeford police received a 911 call at 3:14 p.m. Tuesday from Jamie Wakefield, who said her boyfriend had been shot. When officers arrived a short time later, they found Michaud dead on the porch of the three-story apartment building on Union Street.
Wakefield told the officers several times, "Randy shot him," referring to Hennessey, according to court documents.
Hennessey lived on the second floor of the apartment building, which Michaud owned. Michaud also lived on the third floor with Wakefield.
Wakefield told police that Michaud "was in the process of evicting (Hennessey) who is a tenant in the building," and that he was confrontational with her when she arrived home shortly before the shooting.
According to documents filed last year, Michaud had previously tried to evict Hennessey, who was behind on rent and had violated the terms of the lease. But the parties reached an agreement in January 2020, and the eviction case was continued for months. A judge then dismissed the complaint in September 2020. No new documents had been entered in the file in the year since.
As Wakefield and Hennessey were talking, Michaud arrived and told Hennessey to leave Wakefield alone, the documents allege.
At that point, Wakefield told police, Hennessey then walked upstairs toward his residence on the second floor while she and Michaud went to the front porch.
Moments later, she heard Hennessey say 'Doug,' and then "observed (Hennessey) emerge onto the porch and shoot (Michaud) in the chest several times with a handgun."
Hennessey then went back inside while Wakefield tried to render medical aid to her boyfriend. "(Hennessey) then reappeared and shot (Michaud) in the head at close range while (Wakefield) was consoling him," the documents allege.
Hennessey fled the scene of the shooting on a dirt bike and rode along the train tracks from Biddeford to New Hampshire. Law enforcement had been in contact with him on a cellphone, according to court documents, and he agreed to surrender himself at a location in Durham.
This story will be updated.
