In the small town of Fort Kent, Maine, the life of Daren Charette, a 49-year-old White male, came to a sudden and violent end on Sunday, November 25, 2018. On that day, Fort Kent Police responded to a 911 call that led them to an apartment building at 485 West Main Street. Inside one of the basement apartments, they discovered Charette's body. An autopsy would later confirm that he died from a single gunshot wound, and his death was officially ruled a homicide.
State police detectives
from the Major Crimes Unit descended on the Aroostook County town to investigate the circumstances surrounding Charette's death. In the initial stages of the investigation, authorities announced that they had interviewed the individual believed to have fired the fatal shot. This person was reportedly cooperating with the investigators, and the police assured the public that there was no ongoing threat.
As the investigation progressed, it came to light that Daren Charette had been living a somewhat isolated life, a consequence of his long-standing battle with schizophrenia. According to his sister, Stacy Theriault, his mental health struggles were exacerbated by a head injury he sustained in a car accident. She described her brother as a loving man with a big heart who, despite his illness, was not a threat to others. He was a father and was remembered for being protective of his sister when they were children and for his enjoyment of hunting, fishing, and riding his bicycle. In the years leading up to his death, however, his fear and paranoia had grown, causing him to distance himself from his family out of a desire to protect them from perceived dangers.
Several months after the shooting, in a turn of events that brought further anguish to his family, a grand jury declined to indict the person who had been investigated in connection with Charette's death. The identity of this individual was never publicly released by the authorities. The decision not to press charges left his family, particularly his sister, feeling that justice had not been served for her brother's violent death. She has since advocated for greater awareness and understanding of mental illness.
