Troy and Dulsie Varney with their daughters Audrey and Shelby at Shermirley Farm in Turner in this undated photograph. Troy and Dulsie Varney were killed Feb. 12, 2021, at their home. GoFundMe.com
TURNER — The killing last February of Troy and Dulsie Varney at their Knight Farm Road home left the family — and community — reeling with shock.
Nearly a year later, a family member of the well-liked couple said if any good has come from the horror, it has been the soaring generosity of the community.
“Although very sad, the daughters of Troy and Dulsie are doing well,” said Barbara Varney Beedy, Troy Varney’s cousin. “The tremendous emotional and monetary support that they received demonstrated that they were cared for, and they responded with grace and determination to honor their parents.”
Troy Varney had operated a four-generation dairy farm and was owner and operator of T.W. Varney Excavation. Dulsie worked as a nursing instructor at the Lewiston Regional Technical Center.
In the days immediately following the slayings, members of the close farming community in Turner, along with others from away, reached out to the extended Varney family to see what they could do to help the couple’s daughters Audrey and Shelby.
A GoFundMe page was set up to help the family and donations started rolling in. By the end of the year, nearly $127,000 was raised.
The family said one of the first things they would purchase with the money was a home security system. According to police reports, Troy and Dulsie were stabbed to death after 24-year-old Patrick Maher had slipped through a window of the Varney home and attacked the couple in their beds.
In the following months, Maher appeared in court several times. A judge ordered a mental evaluation for the suspect and a not guilty plea was entered.
Maher remains in jail without bail.
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