The Lewiston man accused of killing his girlfriend earlier this week allegedly shot her in the back of her head as she walked away from him in the hallway of her apartment, according to a police affidavit. He made his first court appearance Friday remotely from the Androscoggin County Jail.
Eddie Massie, 40, was arrested in Greene on Thursday, four days after the body of Lacresha Howard, who would have celebrated her 25th birthday on Monday, was found outside her apartment located on Pierce Street in Lewiston.
The circumstances surrounding Massie’s arrest have not been released.
Howard died from a gunshot wound to the back of the head, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Her death was ruled a homicide.
Massie is charged with intentional or knowing murder. He was not asked to enter a plea to the charge Friday because he has not yet been indicted by the Androscoggin County grand jury.
Superior Court Justice Harold Stewart II ordered Massie be held without bail in the case, which is standard in homicide cases.
Massie also uses the nicknames “Fast Eddie” and “TT,” according to the police affidavit. He and Howard allegedly got into an argument Sunday, people who were at the apartment later told police. They reported hearing a gunshot but none witnessed the slaying.
One woman who was at the apartment said that she and a man had come to Maine from Rochester, New York, on Dec. 5 to sell drugs, the affidavit said. She told police that they spent nearly a week in Rumford before going to Lewiston on Sunday to stay with Howard.
The woman allegedly told police that Howard and Massie got into an argument. Howard said she was going to pack her things and leave but walked out into the hallway instead, according to the affidavit. The woman told police that Massie followed Howard and she heard a gunshot. Massie allegedly came back into the apartment and lit a cigarette.
After the shooting, nearly everyone left the apartment, including Massie, walking past Howard’s body to get out of the building, the affidavit said. A man who lived in an apartment adjacent to Howard’s called 911. Howard is the 30th homicide victim in Maine this year, according to a list compiled by the Bangor Daily News.
That puts Maine on track to surpass the record number of homicides recorded in 2008. That year, 31 people were killed. The 10-year average for homicides remained at 22 last year.
If convicted of murder, Massie faces between 25 years and life in prison.
