PARIS — A Mexico woman charged with murder in connection with her husband’s death pleaded not guilty Tuesday morning.

Gayla Sheldon, 24, was charged with two counts of murder, criminal conspiracy, criminal solicitation and hindering apprehension or prosecution of suspects. During her appearance in District Court, she was denied bail and will remain at the Oxford County Jail.

Sheldon was indicted last week in the deaths of her estranged husband, Victor Sheldon, 22, and Roger Day Jr., 48, in Rumford on Aug. 3, 2009. An Oxford County grand jury heard evidence from Richard A. Moulton, 21, who was dating Sheldon at the time of the deaths, and Eric Hamel, 20.

Moulton and Hamel, both of Mexico, have pleaded guilty to murder in the shooting deaths at Day’s home on Pine Street. Both men agreed to testify against others involved in the murders. Hamel faces up to 50 years in prison. Moulton, who entered a guilty plea in November, faces up to 40 years.

Sheldon’s indictment and a warrant for her arrest were sealed Friday until she was in custody because prosecutors in the Maine Attorney General’s Office feared she might flee if she knew about the indictment. She was arrested at 3:30 p.m. Friday.

Police contacted the Department of Health and Human Services to care for Sheldon’s three children.

According to a warrant for her arrest, Sheldon intentionally caused the deaths of her estranged husband and Roger Day. The conspiracy charge alleges she agreed with Moulton and/or Hamel to cause the crime of murder against both victims.

The criminal solicitation charge alleges Sheldon “made it probable the crime of murder would take place,” according to the warrant.

According to police affidavits, Moulton wanted Victor Sheldon killed because Moulton was afraid Gayla Sheldon would lose the two children she had with Sheldon if he went to jail.

During interviews with police on Aug. 6 and 7 last year, Hamel initially denied involvement in the murders but later confessed that Moulton had asked him to kill Sheldon and Day, too, if he was at the residence. Hamel said he agreed to kill the men, whom he had not met before, for $2,000.

Hamel said Moulton went to Day’s house to visit the men, and Hamel went there later and shot Day and Sheldon with a .38-caliber Smith and Wesson revolver stolen from a neighbor.

Sheldon is also accused of trying to hide, prevent or delay Moulton and Hamel from being caught and punished for the crimes, but court records do not specify how she tried to prevent authorities from catching the two men.

Paris attorney John S. Jenness was appointed as Sheldon’s counsel. Jenness had no comment on the case Tuesday.

According to state records, Sheldon has no criminal convictions. The two confessed killers, Moulton and Hamel, had no convictions either.

Before Victor Sheldon’s death, Gayla Sheldon had filed for divorce in Franklin County, but a judge dismissed the action because she did not serve her husband the paperwork. She wrote in a statement that her husband had “physically, verbally and emotionally” abused her.

On the day of his death, a domestic assault charge against Victor Sheldon had been dismissed. Although Sheldon was still legally married to Victor Sheldon at the time of his death, on her booking sheet Friday she checked her marital status as “divorced” rather than widowed.

[email protected]