Matthew Cushing

Case details

Matthew Cushing was convicted for killing his mother, stepfather, and stepbrother before setting their home on fire. He pleaded guilty and avoided a trial.

Background

Matthew Cushing lived in an apartment off the Orono campus while he was a student at the University of Maine. At the time of the killings, he was taking time off from the University of Maine. Cushing was a European history major at the school until the end of the previous fall semester.

Friends and neighbors described Cushing as caring and compassionate and someone who loved his mother and brother very much. A neighbor and friend also described tension between Cushing and his parents about Cushing’s decision to drop out of the University of Maine, travel to London to visit a friend, and backpack around Europe. Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese said in court that she did not put much stock in the Europe story, saying the situation was complex and “much more was involved.”

Cushing had also been described as despondent over the death of his dog, a husky named Nanook. Grace Endean said Nanook was living with Cushing in Old Town and died after being hit by a car.

Cushing had a history of being concerned with homosexuality issues. Prosecutors said writings and interviews indicated issues with homosexuality and that his stepfather was involved in a gay relationship. Defense counsel Joel Vincent advanced a third possible motive and stated that Cushing may have been experiencing abandonment issues from not knowing for much of his childhood that Chris Bolduc was not his biological father.

The offence

Matthew Cushing killed three family members and set their home on fire at 15 Birkdale Circle in Old Orchard Beach.

The investigation showed that Cushing laid in wait for his family: he first killed his younger brother Josh, 15; then killed his mother, Carol, 42; and then killed his stepfather, Chris, also 42, as each of them successively came home on the day.

Authorities said Cushing used a stun gun to incapacitate his victims and then stabbed them to death, including the family dog. He then set the family home on fire.

The fire was determined to have started in three places: the kitchen, the first-floor hallway, and the basement stairway.

Investigation

Timeline

• Feb. 20, 2008 — Carol Bolduc left Blustery Day Flags around 2:15 p.m.; Christopher Bolduc tried to reach his wife and son around 3:30 p.m.; a fire was reported at 5:42 p.m. at 15 Birkdale Circle; firefighters found three deceased people inside.
• Feb. 20, 2008 (approx. 8:23 p.m.) — Fire Marshal Sr. Investigator Daniel Young interviewed William Huntington.
• Feb. 20, 2008 (approx. 10 p.m.) — State police contacted Old Town Police Department to locate Matthew Cushing.
• Feb. 20, 2008 (approx. 10:40 p.m.) — Old Town Police located Matthew Cushing and he agreed to meet Maine State Police detectives.
• Feb. 20, 2008 (approx. 1:55 a.m.) — Detectives Jeffrey Linscott and Scott Harakles interviewed Matthew Cushing at the Old Town Police Department.

Fire investigators determined the fire had been started in three places: the kitchen, the first-floor hallway, and the basement stairway. A melted, red plastic fuel container, a cigarette lighter, and two cellular telephones were found on the kitchen floor. A digital camera was on the kitchen counter.

Detectives reported the three victims had been stabbed with wounds consistent with those made by a sharp instrument. The state medical examiner reported that Carol, Christopher, and Joshua Bolduc had been stabbed to death.

Investigators said the blood in Carol Bolduc’s car provided DNA evidence. Carol Bolduc’s Toyota 4Runner was found and later secured by police, with red and brown stains on the steering wheel and gearshift. DNA tests matched the blood swabbed from the Toyota 4Runner to the DNA of Matthew Cushing.

The affidavit also said that during a search of Matthew Cushing’s apartment in Old Town, a bloodied backpack was found containing a knife with blood on it and a stun gun.

Arrest

After the killings, investigators contacted Old Town police at 10 p.m. on Feb. 20, 2008 to find Matthew Cushing. He went willingly to the Old Town police station and was described as subdued and cooperative. Police noted cuts on his hands, which he said he received while cutting a thick piece of steak.

Matthew Cushing was arrested around noon on Friday after telling police that he killed Carol and Christopher Bolduc and 15-year-old Joshua Bolduc at their home at 15 Birkdale Circle. He was held in the York County Jail pending arraignment.

Trial

Matthew Cushing pleaded guilty and avoided a trial.

Sentencing

On March 25, 2009, Matthew Cushing was sentenced to life in prison without parole after pleading guilty.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of murder and one count of arson. Prosecutors said he sought the maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

York County Superior Court Justice Paul Fritzsche imposed three concurrent life sentences under state guidelines developed from precedent cases. Fritzsche said the crimes met criteria for the state’s harshest punishment, which included unusual cruelty, multiple killings, and some degree of pre-meditation. Fritzsche said he had never previously administered a life sentence and noted that life in Maine carries no chance for parole.

Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese said evidence showed Cushing planned the murders, including that there were intervals of time between each of the three killings to reconsider his actions. Prosecutors said Cushing had researched on the Internet the best places to stab someone. Fritzsche said: “Most people when they want to have a family conversation do not come armed with a stun gun and knife.”

Relatives gave statements at the sentencing hearing in Alfred at York County Superior Court. Some relatives asked for mercy and urged less than a life sentence, while others asked for a life sentence.

Matthew Cushing read a statement apologizing for his actions and saying the world was a worse place because of his deeds. At sentencing, he apologized and stated that he hated himself because of what he did.

Quotes during sentencing included Fritzsche saying:

“Any other sentence than life in prison ignores the enormity of the wrong.”

Cushing said:

“The world today is a worse place because (the three victims) are not in it.” “From the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry,” he added. And he also said: “They've been robbed of the one thing they cannot replace,” “That I stole so much love from my family is horrific and inexcusable.”

Fritzsche also encouraged anyone with knowledge that a family member is troubled to intervene and try to get help.

Appeals

No appeals were described.

Outcome

Matthew Cushing pleaded guilty to three counts of murder and one count of arson, and he was sentenced to life in prison without parole on March 25, 2009.

Aftermath

After the murders, the family home on Birkdale Circle was leveled and a memorial was placed to the Bolduc family. The Old Orchard Street storefront that housed the family business, Blustery Day Flags, was occupied by Christina’s Classic Cookies.

At the Maine State Prison, a Department of Corrections associate commissioner, Jody Breton, described a typical day as beginning with reveille, followed by breakfast, cell time, morning work or morning recreation, recall and lunch, return to cells for afternoon work or afternoon recreation (each period approximately 2½ hours), and then an evening meal followed by cards or board games, exercise equipment use, or shower time. Breton said counseling and rehabilitation services were available as part of Cushing’s individualized treatment program. She said visitor records were kept confidential, so she could not say whether Cushing got any visitors. She also said she did not know whether Cushing shared his cell.

Other details

The Old Orchard Beach Police Department lead investigator, Detective Sgt. David Hemingway, described the scene as “one of the worst I’ve seen in my career,” and said the brutality of the deaths hit first responders hard since many knew the victims personally. Hemingway said:

“one of the worst I’ve seen in my career,” and also: “That family was known, they owned a local business, their kids went to the local schools and they were active in the community,” “Because of that there was widespread grief on scene.”

Hemingway said authorities zeroed in on Cushing as a possible suspect because he had been in town and because Carol Bolduc’s car was located near Memorial Park and not in the driveway, as would have been expected.

Hemingway said it did not take long for local police to contact parents of Chris and Carol Bolduc, and he said local police canvassed the neighborhood to find out whether anyone had seen anything suspicious. Hemingway said Maine State Police and the Maine Attorney General’s Office took the lead in investigating the murders as standard practice.

Hemingway said the local police had never responded to the Bolduc home for any type of domestic dispute or other issue, adding:

“They were not on our radar.” and: “It was (not a situation) we were trying to triage. It was really out of the blue,” and: “And because we’re such a close-knit, small community, something like this does have a ripple effect.”

Hemingway said for some people the plea might have been a relief but that the plea left unanswered questions.

Prosecutor Lisa Marchese said:

“There is no doubt that this is one of the most heinous crimes in recent memory,” and: “It is my experience that we don’t always know, even after a trial, the motive behind a crime.” She also said: “Any time a defendant accepts responsibility by pleading guilty, it is the right thing for the family and the community. Trials can be very difficult on a family and this trial would have been excruciating for family members.”

During the proceedings, Marchese said the court ordered that the results of a psychological evaluation remain sealed unless Cushing claimed that he was not responsible for the murders due to “a mental disease or defect.”

Marchese said detectives found some of Cushing’s writings indicating issues with homosexuality and described his concerns and motivations. At one point, she said:

“I don’t put much stock in the Europe story.” and: “This is clearly a very complex situation and much more was involved.”

Cushing’s biological father, Paul Cushing, sent a statement read at sentencing by Mary Farrar, a victim witness advocate with the Maine Attorney General’s Office:

“I don't know why he acted as he did to bring us here today.” Mary Farrar read a statement, and Cushing’s father’s statement was included in the proceedings.

Family member statements included:

• Kathy Prior said: “No matter how much time passes, our hearts will never be whole.”
• Jon Bolduc said: “Josh and my kids were very close,” and “My kids idolized him.”
• Jon Bolduc said: “My life sentence is never seeing my grandson grow to adulthood,” which was said by Sandy Miller, Christopher Bolduc’s mother.
• Cheryl Bolduc said: “I was taught to hate the sin and not the sinner,” and asked for mercy.
• Dick Bolduc said: “The Matthew that went to Old Orchard Beach that day is not the Matthew I knew,” and later said: “As part of my healing process, I will forgive him, and hopefully others will follow.”
• Carol Bolduc’s mother, Sandra Griffin, said: “I know she wasn't perfect, but in my eyes she was,” and “But I don't hate Matthew, I love Matthew.”
• Matthew Cushing’s statement at sentencing included: “They've been robbed of the one thing they cannot replace,” and “That I stole so much love from my family is horrific and inexcusable,” and the apology for his actions and sympathy for grieving relatives.

During investigation and later coverage, police described the day’s events as including that Carol telephoned Blustery Day Flags and told Christopher she had seen Cushing’s vehicle at the dog park. Christopher could not reach his wife and son by phone and told Huntington he was going home to check on them, with the instruction that Huntington would call police if he did not hear from Christopher within an hour.

On scene, investigators said firefighters found that the three family members were already dead. Firefighters and police responded after smoke from the fire first brought them to the scene.

Maine man who killed family gets life sentence was discussed as happening after pleading guilty. Cushing’s sentencing hearing was described as emotional, with relatives giving statements about the tragedy’s effect and what they felt should happen.

Other unrelated murders mentioned in commentary included Winston George, who was ambushed, strangled with a rope and suffocated with a plastic bag on June 20, 2008; however, no connection was described to Matthew Cushing’s case.