PARIS – Taxpayers are paying thousands to house Christian C. Nielsen, accused of murdering four people over Labor Day weekend.

Nielsen was removed from the Oxford County Jail on Sept. 8 after hitting another inmate over the head with a mop wringer. Since then it has cost $103 per day to house him at the Cumberland County Jail – totaling nearly $10,000.

Officials anticipate an October 2007 trial, so keeping him in the Portland lockup could cost the county more than $37,000, said Capt. Ernest Martin, Oxford County Jail administrator.

Nielsen is being held without bail.

After Oxford County officials get the results of a psychological exam that Nielsen was scheduled to undergo this week, they can determine if they can return him to the jail, said Christopher Wainwright, chief deputy of the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office.

However, Nielsen could also be transferred to a mental health facility, depending on the severity of the condition, Martin said Wednesday.

Cumberland County Jail officials told Martin that Nielsen was a “model prisoner” until he gashed himself on his head with a disposable razor Dec. 5. The cuts were made to look like an “X.”

He was placed on suicide watch, which meant constant supervision, but later taken off it after an evaluation by the jail’s medical unit, said Capt. Wayne Pike, operations manager of the Cumberland County Jail.

Pike referred further comment on the incident to the jail’s medical director, who could not be reached.

At Cumberland County Jail, Nielsen is kept alone in a maximum security cell. That means more lock-down time, giving him contact with other inmates about two to three hours per day, Pike said.

If returned to the Oxford County Jail, Nielsen would be kept in normal confinement, Martin said. He would have his own cell at night, but during the day he would share a day area with up to 10 other inmates.

“I don’t know if we want him back here,” Martin said.

With only one isolation cell, the Oxford County Jail is not designed for maximum security inmates, Martin said.

On the day of the attack on inmate Ryan Brown, as far as the supervising corrections officer could tell, Nielsen’s attack was unprovoked. However, Martin described Brown as an “agitator,” so there could have been something that preceded it.

Brown is out on bail.

Wainwright said previously that the county is incurring the cost for safety reasons and thinks taxpayers understand that.

Sheriff-elect Wayne Gallant will inherit authority over the Nielsen housing situation when he takes office Jan. 1. Gallant said he could not comment on his plans now, but will make it a priority when he becomes sheriff.

Nielsen is accused of the Labor Day weekend killings at the Black Bear Bed and Breakfast on Sunday River Road in Newry, where he was renting a room.

According to court records, Nielsen told police that he wanted to kill inn guest James Whitehurst, 50, of Batesville, Ark. On Sept. 1, he asked Whitehurst to go fishing in Upton. He bought a .38-caliber gun and ammo, a sandwich for Whitehurst and drove him to Upton where he shot him. He went to his job as a short-order cook at a Bethel guest house, and the next morning returned to the site, where he burned Whitehurst’s body and buried it in the woods, Maine State Police Detective Jennifer King said.

Nielsen told police that inn owner Julie Bullard, 65, would wonder where Whitehurst was, so he shot her in her bed the morning of Sept. 3, dragged her body outside and cut in in half, according to King’s affidavit. He also shot her three dogs before going back to his job that evening.

When Bullard’s daughter, Selby, 30, of Bethel showed up unexpectedly Sept. 4 at the inn with her friend Cynthia Beatson, 43, also of Bethel, Nielsen told police he shot them too. Both their bodies were also mutilated, King said.

Nielsen pleaded not guilty to the killings when he was arraigned Oct. 18.

State officials asked for the psychological exam to determine the defendant’s state of mind at the time of the crimes. William Stokes, head of the criminal division in the state Attorney General’s office, said the exam was to also check for a possible brain tumor and to prepare for an insanity defense.

Nielsen was scheduled to be examined this week.

“The defendant’s state of mind at the time of the offenses is likely to be a critical issue at the time of the trial,” Assistant Attorney General Andrew Benson wrote in a memorandum supporting the exam.