LEWISTON – Investigators on Wednesday continued to search for evidence in the deaths of two Auburn men whose bodies were found in shallow graves off Foss Road Saturday.
Police revisited the wooded area adjacent to railroad tracks off the end of Foss Road where the bodies of James Vining, 43, and John Graffam, 30, were found. They were looking for any clues that might have been missed during earlier sweeps of the area.
Maine State Police homicide detectives are working closely with Lewiston police, interviewing friends, family and associates of the victims, said Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety.
The men were found buried in shallow graves just below the raised railroad right of way. Police said it appeared that a coyote or fox had been pawing at one of the graves. A group of hunters stumbled across that grave Saturday morning. Police found the second body nearby.
McCausland said police were trying to put together the details of the men’s final days. The last time either was seen alive was around the end of September.
Other than releasing the men’s names and confirming that they were homicide victims, police have refused to talk about the findings of autopsies conducted Sunday by the state Medical Examiner’s Office. The approximate date that the men were killed and how they were slain are among details police are withholding.
Many questions, including why they ended up where they did and who is responsible for their deaths, need to be answered through the investigation, McCausland said.
As police continued their work Wednesday, the families and friends of Vining and Graffam were busy making funeral arrangements.
Vining was remembered by his girlfriend, Alice Keene, as a kind and loving man. She said he was particularly caring for her and her father when her dad was dying earlier this year. Vining spent most of his life living in the Auburn area, Keene said.
Graffam’s mother, Lianne Micks, spoke fondly of her son, remarking about the 30-year-old’s pride when his son was born and of his caring ways with other family members. Graffam grew up in Mechanic Falls, and spent his 20s living in the Lewiston-Auburn area, his mother said.
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