Police Chief's Son Raped Woman While Impersonating Father. Following Prison Release, He's Now Accused of Murder

Gary Mariner, 65, faces a murder charge in connection with the death of Danielle Goodwin, 52

A Maine woman was found dead on the side of the road in early September, and a convicted rapist is now accused of murdering her.

According to a statement from Maine State Police, Gary Mariner, 65, was arrested on Nov. 4 in Saco, Maine, on a murder charge in connection with the death of Danielle Goodwin, 52.

Goodwin’s body was found on Sept. 5 on an embankment close to the sidewalk near Home Depot in South Portland, according to a statement from the South Portland Police Department. A cause of death has not yet been released but her manner of death has been determined to be a homicide.

Maine State Police, which took over the investigation, has not revealed a possible motive for the violence and any other details surrounding Goodwin’s death.

According to state criminal records cited by the Portland Press Herald, Mariner was convicted in 2017 of gross sexual assault while impersonating a police officer. He was sentenced to 12 years with all but four suspended. He reportedly took his deceased father’s police badge and used it to pressure a sex worker into sex. His father, Herbert Mariner, previously served as a police chief in Cape Elizabeth.

Mariner is listed on the Maine Sex Offender Registry website as a convict who will be registered as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

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Goodwin was known in the local community for her work as a drug and alcohol counselor and was described by her friends as someone who was generous with others.

“She had a way of making anybody feel special just by being in her presence,” friend Stephanie Doyle told the Portland Press Herald. Doyle said Goodwin struggled with addiction but worked to stay sober.

Mariner made his first court appearance Monday in York County Superior Court, where the Portland Press Herald reports he did not have to enter a plea. It’s unclear if he has retained an attorney to speak on his behalf.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

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