AUBURN — A Lewiston man on Wednesday denied a murder charge stemming from the November death of another Lewiston man who was dropped off at an area hospital where he later died.
Jerry Thibodeau appears Wednesday in Androscoggin County Superior Court in Auburn for arraignment on a murder charge. Screenshot from video
Jerry C. Thibodeau, 36, pleaded not guilty to the charge of intentional or knowing murder in the alleged Nov. 3, 2023, slaying of 40-year-old Anthony Ayotte.
Thibodeau was indicted by an Androscoggin County grand jury in December 2023.
He appeared Wednesday in Androscoggin County Superior Court by videoconference from the Androscoggin County Jail.
Justice Jennifer Archer, who presided over the arraignment, appeared by videoconference from Franklin County Superior Court in Farmington.
Defense attorney Steve Smith, who is representing Thibodeau, appeared to be on the videoconference hearing from his Augusta office.
Assistant Attorney General Lisa Bogue asked that Thibodeau continue to be held in jail without bail.
Smith said he reserved the option of seeking a future bail hearing for his client.
The attorneys agreed that a conference should be held to review schedules for filing motions and a trial date.
Investigators said Ayotte was dropped off about 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 3, 2023, at the emergency department at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston, where he was treated for his injuries but died the next morning.
Detectives from the Lewiston Police Department and Maine State Police conducted interviews and collected evidence, which led to Thibodeau’s eventual arrest.
Police located him on the evening of Nov. 4, 2023, at a home on Sabattus Street, where he refused to leave, creating a police standoff that lasted for hours before his arrest that night.
Investigators believe Thibodeau, who reportedly knew Ayotte, had dropped him off at the hospital.
The manner of Ayotte’s death was determined to be homicide; the cause of his death was not made public.
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