SKOWHEGAN — A judge determined Monday that a Massachusetts man charged in the weekend death of a Skowhegan woman will be held without bail as the investigation continues.
A preliminary hearing for 19-year-old Jason Servil was held before District Court Judge Andrew Benson who ordered that the Boston man continue to be incarcerated at the Somerset County Jail.
Servil did not enter a plea Monday. He attended the hearing virtually from the jail.
Servil was charged with murder in the death of Alice Abbott and with aggravated assault for injuring a Madison man, authorities said.
A murder conviction carries a prison term of 25 years to life and a conviction for aggravated assault can bring a prison term of up to 10 years and a $20,000 fine.
Police were called to 912 Canaan Road in Skowhegan at about 5:45 a.m. Saturday after receiving a report of an assault. Responding officers found the caller, who was the Madison man, suffering from a head injury. They then found the body of 20-year-old Abbott.
The property is owned by Abbott’s parents and she lived there, according to a news release issued Saturday by Shannon Moss, spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Safety. Servil and the Madison man, who police did not identify, were staying at the home, she said.
Moss said Servil was an acquaintance of Abbott.
An investigation by state police detectives and Skowhegan police led officers to arrest Servil on the murder charge shortly before 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
Police records in the case have been sealed. It wasn’t clear Monday if Servil has an attorney who could comment on the allegations.
Skowhegan police Chief David Bucknam said Monday that officers who arrived at the home Saturday secured the scene and waited for state police to arrive to lead the investigation. He declined to comment further on the matter.
“This was a senseless act of violence that did not need to happen,” Bucknam said.
State police in consultation with the state attorney general’s office decided to charge Servil with murder, Moss said.
An autopsy conducted Sunday by the state medical examiner’s office ruled Abbott’s death a homicide.
The Madison man was transported to Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan where he was treated and released.
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