A man has been charged with murder after a couple was found dead in a Maine apartment on New Year's Day.
State police said Dana Hill and Heather Bickford, both 31, were found dead Tuesday in an apartment on Main Street in South Paris. Thursday evening, the department announced that 49-year-old Mark Penley had been charged with two counts of murder after being arrested around 7:30 p.m. at the Rumford Police Department.
According to police, Penley was the person who called 911 to report the deaths Tuesday. Police arrived at the apartment to find the victims' bodies.
Bickford's two children, an 8-year-old and 2-month-old, were in the apartment at the time of the victims' deaths. They are now in the custody of the state's Department of Health and Human Services. State police say the children were not injured.
Hill was renting the apartment and Bickford was a Canton resident, according to investigators.
Penley is due to appear in court Friday. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.
