A Peru man charged with double-homicide after killing his ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend after he had sneaked into their apartment in South Paris.
Mark Penley, 49, was booked on two counts of murder in the deaths of Heather Bickford and her boyfriend, Dana Hill, who were found shot multiple times inside Bickford’s apartment in South Paris on New Year’s Day.
Police on Jan. 1 found the couple's bodies in Hill's downtown, first-floor apartment at Market Square on Main Street. Police said Penley made the 911 call to officers to report the deaths.
Bickford's two young children, an 8-year-old and a 2-month-old, were in the apartment when the bodies were found. They were uninjured and taken into the custody of the Maine Department of Health & Human Services.
Bickford broke up with Penley last May after a 10-year relationship. Paris Police Officer Joseph Correia told state police this week that on Dec. 28, Bickford told him she was afraid of Penley, who had not stopped bothering her since she broke up with him.
Penley filed a request in May 2018 for a protection from abuse order against Bickford. He wrote that he feared his daughter was in danger because of abuse by her and claimed Bickford repeatedly slapped their daughter.
Shortly after, Bickford also filed a protection from abuse order against Penley. She claimed Penley was controlling and at one point even followed her in his vehicle and rear-ended her.
Penley and Bickford both dropped the charges in June.
Penley's planned to kill Bickford because of his extreme jealousy, so that, "no one else could have her."
a GoFundMe page is set for the two orphan children and a vigil is scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m. in Moore Park in South Paris.
