In the small community of Presque Isle, Maine, a tragic event unfolded over a weekend in March 2019, culminating in the death of one-year-old Quinten Leavitt, a White male. The incident began on a Saturday when Presque Isle police were dispatched to a home at 728 Reach Road. What they encountered led to a standoff that would stretch through the night.
As the situation escalated, the Maine State Police Tactical Team and negotiators were called to the scene to assist.
The hours ticked by with law enforcement surrounding the residence. In the early hours of Sunday morning, the tactical team made the decision to enter the house. Inside, they made a grim discovery, finding two bodies.
The deceased were identified as 14-month-old Quinten Leavitt and his 35-year-old father, Matthew Leavitt. The state medical examiner's office later conducted autopsies and determined that both father and son had died from a single gunshot wound. Investigators concluded that Matthew Leavitt shot and killed his young son before turning the gun on himself in a murder-suicide.
Authorities treated the case as a domestic violence murder-suicide and assured the public that there was no ongoing threat. State police detectives completed their evidence collection at the home on the following Monday. The suspect in Quinten's death was his father, who was also deceased, bringing the investigation to a somber close without any arrests.
