A man facing a murder charge in Washington County has been indicted for allegedly trying to get another man to commit arson.
Paul DeForest, 67, is accused of shooting and killing Eva Cox at her home in Lubec on Jan. 8, 2022. He was arrested that month.
After DeForest was transferred to Hancock County Jail in Ellsworth last December, he allegedly approached another inmate about committing an act of arson.
It wasn’t immediately clear what DeForest had wanted the other inmate to set on fire. Court documents in the case have been impounded.
DeForest’s defense attorney, Steve Juskewitch of Ellsworth, did not return messages seeking comment.
Solicitation to commit arson is a Class B crime, a conviction on which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
DeForest is tentatively scheduled to go on trial this October for the shooting death of Cox, a 58-year old woman whom police say was DeForest’s girlfriend. Police say DeForest shot and killed Cox while a friend of DeForest’s was staying at Cox’s home on Jim’s Head Road.
The friend reported the shooting to police two days later. He told police he had dozed off in a bedroom after eating dinner with DeForest and Cox but was awakened by a loud “pop.” He went downstairs, saw Cox lying on the floor and “heard her gurgling and saw blood around her body,” as he got closer, according to court documents.
He also saw a pistol on a counter near DeForest, who told the friend to leave and then dragged Cox by her arm through a set of French doors onto an outside patio, according to court documents.
Cox’s body was found January 11, 2022 in the trunk of her car, which was parked on a neighbor’s property.
DeForest was arrested January 12, 2022 at a house in Virginia, after he called the friend to say he was “headed to West Virginia to get his dog to his daughter before he got caught,” according to court documents.
DeForest, who remains held without bail on the murder charge, is now in custody at Washington County Jail in Machias.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated when DeForest allegedly approached the other inmate. It allegedly happened after he was moved to Hancock County Jail.