LEWISTON — Five months after a 38-year-old local man was beaten to death near Kennedy Park, police investigators remained tight-lipped about the case.
“Continues to be investigated by Lewiston and State Police,” wrote Maine Public Safety Spokesman Stephen McCausland on Friday, in a terse response to an inquiry. “No new developments.”
Lewiston Police Chief Brian O’Malley declined to discuss the case, referring all questions to McCausland.
Donald G. Giusti
Donald Giusti died from injuries sustained in a June 12 altercation on Knox Street near Kennedy Park, where witnesses have said he was beaten as two groups clashed. Investigators have said there were roughly 100 people surrounding the scene when police arrived.
Giusti’s death launched a frenzy of speculation and tumult in downtown Lewiston, with many insisting that the beating was racially motivated.
Vigils were held in and around Kennedy Park. The city instituted a park curfew and volunteer groups began patrolling the area, hoping to curtail violence.
While the community buzzed with anger and grief, police released sporadic updates on the case and urged patience.
In mid-August, Lt. Mark Holmquist of the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit told the City Council the current pace of the investigation has slowed as investigators analyze evidence that has been gathered and evidence that had been sent out for testing.
Investigators were analyzing video footage of the brawl from city cameras and from witnesses who had recorded the fight. Police said the complexity of the case, with a number of juveniles and teenagers involved, made a quick resolution unlikely.
“As far as a timetable, I can’t provide one,” Holmquist said during the August update before the City Council. “It’s definitely going to take a little more work to get where we need to go, but I’m confident we will get there.”
In the aftermath of the slaying, Giusti’s relatives also urged patience, saying they had faith that police would ultimately resolve the case.
For some family members, though, that patience was wearing thin.
“They have videos, names, suspects and have had a roundtable to discuss the case, which I have been told is complete,” Giusti’s brother, Brian Veres, said Friday. “Justice needs to be served in my brother’s case.”
Veres added, “This should not have taken this long to not have arrests being made. We have listened to the same song and dance for months.”
He said that in addition to the long wait for justice, some of the family — including Giusti’s daughter — have been harassed, both within the community and on social media.
“We as a family have taken abusive and negative comments since he was murdered,” Veres said, “and we are tired of it. We have to defend him weekly on social media. His children deserve justice. I have lost faith in the system in Maine.”
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