In the quiet town of Oakland, Maine, the life of a 28-year-old Caucasian woman named Amy Derosby was tragically cut short on November 4, 2015. On that evening, a horrific sequence of events unfolded in a two-apartment house on Belgrade Road, leaving four people dead in a suspected murder-suicide. Amy, along with her sister Amanda Bragg, 30, and Amanda's boyfriend, Michael Muzerolle, 29, were all shot and killed by Amy's 42-year-old boyfriend, Herman DeRico.
Amy and DeRico resided in the
upstairs apartment of the building, while her sister, Amanda, Michael, and their three-year-old daughter lived on the first floor. In her final moments, a wounded Amy managed to call 911, providing valuable information to the first responders. Despite the terror of the situation, her call, along with others from concerned neighbors who reported hearing gunshots, brought police to the scene around 8 p.m.
Upon their arrival, authorities discovered a tragic scene. The bodies of Amy, Amanda, and Michael were found inside the first-floor apartment. Miraculously, Amanda and Michael's young daughter was found unharmed amidst the violence. Outside the home, police found the body of Herman DeRico, who had taken his own life with a 9mm handgun.
Investigators later revealed that DeRico had a history of mental health issues and had a combination of prescribed and illegal drugs in his system at the time of the incident. While a definitive motive for the tragic killings remains elusive, it was reported that neighbors heard arguing prior to the gunshots. In the wake of the devastating loss, the focus of the community turned to the well-being of the sole survivor, the young girl who was left without her parents.
