A man has been found guilty of manslaughter in the death of his roommate at the Lincolnville home they shared.
The jury on Wednesday opted to find 49-year-old Matthew Pendleton guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter rather than depraved-indifference murder, according to the Republican Journal.
Pendleton was arrested on Jan. 7, 2023, the day after he called police to report that 47-year-old Kevin Curit was unresponsive at the Thorndike Road home.
Prosecutors said that Pendleton beat and strangled Curit in a “drunken fury” after coming home to find a mess in the kitchen and then dragged Curit’s body to a camper in front of the home. Pendleton’s defense team countered that, saying Curit’s death was a consequence of complications from his failing health, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and alcoholism, the Republican Journal reported.
The two men had been friends for at least 30 years before Curit moved in with Pendleton in 2022. Curit had been at risk of homelessness at the time, a neighbor told the Bangor Daily News. Both men went to the former Camden-Rockport High School in the early 1990s.
Pendleton’s defense said that he acted as a caretaker for Curit.
Pendleton will be sentenced at the Waldo County Judicial Center in Belfast in March.
