On a tragic evening in Belfast, Maine, the life of 55-year-old Lynn Arsenault, a White female, was cut short by a violent act. On August 28, 2013, Arsenault was in the Waldo Avenue home she owned, a place she stayed on days she worked in town at Bank of America. That night, a man named Todd Gilday came to the door.
Events unfolded rapidly and violently. Gilday, 44 at the time, was met at the door by Arsenault's 21-year-old son, Mathew Day.
After Day attempted to close the door, Gilday fired a shotgun, blowing out the glass, and kicked the door open. He then shot Lynn Arsenault in the chest and proceeded to shoot her son, Mathew. A witness in the house heard Gilday exclaim that he was going to "kill everyone in the f---ing house." Arsenault died at the scene from blood loss due to the shotgun wound. Her son, Mathew, was seriously injured but survived.
The motive for the shooting appeared to stem from a dispute between Gilday and Mathew Day. An affidavit indicated that Day was able to identify Gilday as the shooter to the police but was unsure of the reason for the attack. There was also a connection between Gilday and Day's girlfriend, Misty Linscott. Gilday had driven her to report for a jail term earlier on the day of the shooting. During that drive, he reportedly told a friend that he was going to "shoot some people tonight."
Following the shooting, an overnight manhunt for Todd Gilday ensued. He was located and arrested without incident the next morning at Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport, where he had checked himself into the psychiatric and addiction recovery unit. Gilday was charged with the murder of Lynn Arsenault and the elevated aggravated assault of Mathew Day.
Initially, Gilday pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. However, he later withdrew the insanity plea and pleaded guilty to murder, attempted murder, and elevated aggravated assault. As part of a plea agreement, he was sentenced to 50 years in prison for the murder of Lynn Arsenault and a concurrent 15-year sentence for the attack on her son. A judge described the rampage as an "utterly senseless" act. In addition to the criminal proceedings, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed against Gilday on behalf of Lynn Arsenault's husband, Donald Arsenault Jr., which resulted in a $1 million judgment.
