BOOTHBAY HARBOR (AP) – A Pittston man was being held on two counts of murder after his arrest in the weekend shootings of his mother and his estranged wife, a social studies teacher at Cony High School.

Jon Dilley, 51, was accused of killing Sarah Murray, 71, and Chevelle “Chellie” Calloway, 41, at Murray’s summer home in Boothbay Harbor.

The shootings took place around 8 a.m. Saturday after Dilley drove to Murray’s home and an argument ensued, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the state Public Safety Department.

Calloway’s body was found inside the house and Murray’s in the yard.

The couple’s two children, ages 6 and 9, witnessed the shootings and ran to a Coast Guard station next door. The children were being placed with their godparents, who arrived Sunday from out-of-state, McCausland said.

Neighbors called Boothbay Harbor police, and Dilley was arrested without incident. A semiautomatic handgun was found in his car, investigators said.

Dilley, who works as a telecommunications specialist in Portland, was taken to the Lincoln County Jail and was scheduled to appear in Wiscasset District Court on Monday.

Calloway, who had recently separated from her husband, was on the faculty of the Augusta high school for four years, first teaching English and, most recently, economics and civics.

“She was a wonderful person,” said Cony Principal Geraldine Massey. “She was the most vivacious, outgoing individual you’d ever want to meet. She was willing to do anything for the school. It’s a shock. She was so full of life.”

Massey said the school district’s crisis team will be assembled to help students, scheduled to start school Aug. 31, and staff deal with the loss.

AP-ES-08-22-04 1338EDT