A Franklin County grand jury has indicted Austin Doucette on intentional or knowing murder in the death of his girlfriend, Mikayla Rose DeSantis, whom he fatally shot on March 8 at a Carrabassett Valley condo. Doucette, who called the shooting accidental in 911 calls—as detailed in prior coverage—now faces formal charges following an autopsy confirming homicide.
The indictment, handed down late last week, escalates the case against 24-year-old Doucette for the March 8 shooting at the Left Bank condominiums, about 120 miles north of Portland. DeSantis, 23, suffered multiple gunshot wounds to her chest and abdomen and was airlifted to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she died. An April 13 autopsy confirmed the wounds as the cause of death in a homicide, per the medical examiner's findings in the probable cause affidavit.
As previously reported, Maine State Police found a .45-caliber handgun on the living room couch (slide locked back, magazine nearby), three spent shell casings on the floor, an unspent round on the couch, and bullets embedded in furniture and walls. Doucette's hysterical 911 calls claimed accident, with statements like 'I can't believe I did this' and 'It accidentally went off.'
Doucette and DeSantis, together nearly eight years and working at Sugarloaf Mountain ski resort, hailed from Connecticut. Defense attorney Verne E. Paradie maintains it was 'a terrible accident' and anticipates more details. This development follows initial murder charges and reports of alleged prior abuse in the case. Read more in the 'Mikayla Rose DeSantis shooting death' series.