AUBURN — A Lewiston man formally was charged Wednesday with murdering his pregnant girlfriend, whom police said he ran down with his car last month before attempting to flee the country.

Authorities captured Evaristo Antonio De Deus, 33, of 37 Union St. 10 minutes before his flight was due to depart JFK Airport in New York.

An Androscoggin County grand jury indicted Deus with intentional or knowing or depraved indifference murder, a charge punishable by 25 years to life in prison.

Police said Deus intentionally struck his girlfriend, Laudrinha Kubeloso, 32, of 78 College St. from behind with his vehicle on Lewiston’s Birch and Howe streets. She was four months pregnant.

Police later recovered Deus’ blue 2001 Suzuki SUV in a parking lot at the University of New England in Portland.

He is scheduled to appear in Androscoggin County Superior Court on Wednesday, where he is expected to enter a plea to the charge.

Advertisement

Lewiston police said local detectives were able to track Deus’ movements after the hit-and-run incident and were eventually informed that he had been booked on a 9:25 a.m. flight out of JFK Airport in New York City on Wednesday.

Once police in Lewiston learned that Deus had a plane ticket, they contacted the New York Port Authority for assistance.

Deus was arrested on a murder warrant and waived extradition to Maine. Maine detectives escorted him to the Androscoggin County Jail.

Prosecutors asked a judge that the affidavit supporting Deus’ arrest be impounded pending his indictment.

Deus’ attorney, Justin Leary, requested a bail hearing, which likely will be scheduled for sometime after his arraignment.

Kubeloso, who was from Angola, had been a volunteer at Hope House on College Street in Lewiston and had been enrolled in adult education classes. She had sought asylum in the U.S.  seven months earlier.

Deus had been living in Lewiston for less than a year, most recently on Union Street.

cwilliams@sunjournal.com


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.