On August 3, 2009, 22-year-old Victor Reed Sheldon, a male resident of Rumford, Maine, was fatally shot in a violent double homicide that also claimed the life of 48-year-old Roger Leroy Day Jr. The murders took place inside Day's apartment on Pine Street, where Sheldon had been staying. The subsequent investigation would unravel a murder-for-hire plot initiated by Victor Sheldon's estranged wife.
The chain of events leading to the tragic deaths began when Gayla Sheldon, fearful of
losing custody of her children and seeking retribution for a domestic assault charge that was dismissed the very day of the murder, orchestrated a plan to have her husband killed. She enlisted the help of her boyfriend, 20-year-old Richard A. Moulton Jr., who in turn offered his friend, 19-year-old Eric Hamel, $2,000 to carry out the killings. The agreement included the murder of Roger Day if he was present at the time.
On the evening of the murders, Moulton first went to Day's apartment to visit with both men. Hamel arrived later, armed with a stolen revolver. After Moulton went into the bathroom, Hamel shot both Victor Sheldon and Roger Day. Initially, there was a plan to wound Moulton to make it appear as though he was also a victim, but he instead told Hamel to flee after the shootings. Moulton then contacted the police, initially presenting himself as a witness and even assisting with a composite sketch of the supposed shooter.
However, the investigation soon led to both Moulton and Hamel. Hamel was arrested in the early morning hours of August 7, 2009, and Moulton was arrested later the same day. Hamel confessed to the police and led them to where he had buried the murder weapon, along with shell casings and glove fragments. In 2010, Eric Hamel pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and received a 45-year prison sentence. Richard Moulton also pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. In 2011, Gayla Sheldon pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy and solicitation to commit murder, receiving a sentence of 25 years with 15 years suspended.
