Alfred man charged with murder in wife’s killing pleads not guilty

A York County man charged with murder in his wife’s slaying has pleaded not guilty.

James Crow, 40, appears in York County Superior Court Friday via Zoom. He is charged with murder in his wife’s death. Screenshot from a court hearing.

James Crow, 40, was charged with knowing or intentional murder in April. The Office of the Maine Attorney General says Crow shot his wife, 39-year-old Kristan Crow, with a 9 mm pistol on April 10.

He entered the plea at his arraignment in York County Superior Court Friday, appearing via Zoom from the York County Jail where he is being held without bail.

Justice Richard Mulhern ordered Crow not to have contact with his three children, who prosecutors say might be potential witnesses in his trial.

Crow’s court-appointed attorneys, Matthew Crockett and Rob Andrews didn’t object to the no-contact order and agreed to wait to request a hearing to revisit Crow’s bail conditions.

Crow’s latest hearing offered no further information on his defense or what happened before the shooting.

An affidavit in the case was unsealed in April when Crow made his initial court appearance.

A Maine State Police evidence van sits outside a house at 81 Waterboro Road in Alfred, where 39-year-old Kristan Crow was found dead on April 10. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

Shortly before 3 p.m. on April 10, a man identifying himself as James Crow called police dispatchers and told them he had shot his wife at their house on Waterboro Road and left. Police found Kristan Crow’s body on a bed with a “significant amount of blood around her face,” the affidavit states. Police also found their 18-year-old son in the home.

Crow surrendered to police in the parking lot of Harry’s Convenience Store in Lyman around 4:30 p.m., about an hour and a half after fleeing his house. An officer found a green SIG Sauer automatic pistol in Crow’s truck, according to the affidavit. State police said he surrendered without incident.

Crow is a combat veteran who had served in Afghanistan. He has a long history of mental health conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder, his older brother Justin Crow told the Press Herald after the shooting.

His family said he was blindsided last October when his wife was charged with four counts of wire fraud by federal prosecutors who say she stole more than $423,000 from her employer between April 2018 and September 2021.

James Crow filed for divorce in March.

Before he was arrested, James Crow called several friends and family members and admitted what he had done, according to 911 calls obtained by the Press Herald weeks after the shooting.

Others called 911 over concerns that he was suicidal after they read a social media post that Crow made that afternoon.

“I couldn’t do it anymore,” the post reads. “I’m so sorry everyone. I really am. I wish none of this happened. I snapped. My brain is broken and there’s no coming back now. I love my children so much and I only hope that someone good takes care of them. I’m sorry.”

Several of Crow’s co-workers knew he was going through a difficult period in his life and feared the post was a suicide note, one caller told dispatchers.