LEWISTON – More than a week after the bodies of two Auburn men were found buried in shallow graves here, police continue to plug away at leads they hope they’ll follow to a killer.
No arrests have been made. Police are withholding the cause and time of the men’s deaths, hoping that by keeping some details secret it may help in their investigation.
“There are no new developments” in the case, said Steve McCausland on Sunday. McCausland is the spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
State police investigators are working with Lewiston police detectives in trying to learn who killed James E. Vining, 43, and John G. Graffam, 30. Hunters came across a shallow grave holding the body of one of the men a week ago Saturday morning. Police found the second man’s body nearby when they responded to the call about the first grave.
The grisly discovery took place near railroad tracks just to the northeast of Foss Road, a dead-end street off Lisbon Road.
Lewiston police Lt. Tom Avery said Sunday evening that local cops have been interviewing and re-interviewing people who knew the two men.
“They’re working to track down all of their movements” over their last days, Avery said of the victims. “It’s a long and tedious process.”
He said sometimes people will tell police about other people that Vining or Graffam knew. That in turn can lead detectives in new directions; other times, it prompts re-interviews with other people.
McCausland said that besides interviewing people, police are waiting for state crime laboratory analysis of items sent to the lab earlier.
Police had combed the area where the bodies were found seeking clues and evidence.
“Our goal remains to find out who took these men’s lives,” said McCausland.
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