On May 25, 2010, Debra J. Durborow Meitzler, a 51-year-old female, was found deceased in her Prentiss, Maine, home. Her death was the result of being fatally shot by her husband, Dean A. Meitzler, who then took his own life. The couple had moved to the residence on Averill Road about a year prior from Barto, Pennsylvania.
The discovery was made by the couple's 29-year-old son, Jasen Meitzler, who was in another room of the house when he heard gunshots.
After discovering his parents' bodies in their bedroom, he immediately alerted the authorities. Investigators from the Maine State Police processed the scene and determined the incident to be a murder-suicide. Autopsies confirmed that both Debra and Dean Meitzler died from gunshot wounds.
At the time of her death, Debra Meitzler was working as a licensed practical nurse at Colonial Health Care, a retirement home in nearby Lincoln. Formerly, she had worked at Pennsburg Manor. She was a graduate of the Brandywine School of Nursing, where she had received top honors. She enjoyed outdoor activities such as snowmobiling, gardening, and fishing.
The motive for the murder-suicide was not immediately clear to investigators, and no suicide note was found at the scene. Friends and family expressed shock, stating that the couple appeared to be happy and financially stable. Debra's death was recorded as the seventh homicide in Maine in 2010 and the fifth related to domestic violence. The suspect in her death was her husband, Dean A. Meitzler, who died by suicide. Consequently, no arrests were made.
