Former Pastor Allegedly Kills Daughter in Murder-Suicide After Being Served with Divorce Papers: Reports
A father and daughter were found dead after an apparent murder-suicide in Hebron, Maine, on Thursday, according to several reports.
Authorities say 56-year-old Daniel Randall shot his 27-year-old daughter Claire Randall several times before turning the gun on himself, according to the Oxford Hills Sun Journal. Claire’s body was found in the bathroom of the home where she lived with her mother and Daniel’s was found on the front porch by a neighbor around 2 p.m., according to the Portland Press Herald.
The neighbor also told the Herald that the words “VOW BREAKER” were spray-painted on the kitchen counter, among other messages spray-painted in the home. Daniel’s wife Anita Randall had served him with divorce papers earlier in the week, according to the Sun Journal.
The Maine Medical Examiner’s Office told NBC 10 Claire died of multiple gunshot wounds and Daniel died from a single gunshot to the head.
Daniel was a pastor at First Congregational Church in Bristol, Rhode Island, for 12 years before announcing his resignation on December 2014 and serving his last mass on Jan. 25, 2015, according to NBC 10. He was also a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force, according to the Herald. He had recently returned from a 90-day recovery program at a substance abuse center in Portland, Maine, according to NBC 10.
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Police told NBC 10 Randall left the Liberty Bay Recovery Center at 10 a.m. Thursday morning, purchased a shotgun, then drove home and shot and killed his daughter. Authorities are still investigating how and where Daniel purchased the gun, according to the Herald.
State police also said Daniel was estranged from his family and did not have a key to the home. He broke in through the garage door, according to the Herald. The family moved into the home in the summer, and Claire had recently moved in to stay with her mother Anita and her teenage brother in Maine. But only Claire and Daniel were at the home during the time of the shooting, according to the Herald.
Among his former roles as a chaplain and pastor, Daniel also served as a pastor at the First Parish Congregational Church in Saco, Maine, from 1993 to 1994. During Fourth of July weekend in 1994, his first wife Greta died of a fall while picnicking with Daniel and their two daughters, Molly and Claire. Greta was six months pregnant at the time and their prematurely-born son died one day later, according to the Herald. He then took a two month leave before moving to Arizona, where he met Anita.
In a video for Roger Williams University, where Daniel served as an affiliate chaplain from 2009 to 2012, he said, “One of our sayings is ‘No matter who you are or where you are in life’s journey, you’re welcome here.’ … We are here for you.”
Maine State Police, Medical Examiner’s Office and the Department of Public Safety did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
