When it comes to safest states in the country, depending on which source you check, Maine constantly ranks number 1 for safest state in the union, however, that could soon change.

According to an article published by the Kennebec Journal, the state of Maine only managed to go 39 days without a murder for the calendar year of 2024. Sure, that seems pretty good compared to states with super-large cities, but for Maine, it's not that great.

How many homicides happened in Maine last year?

According to the same article, Maine saw a total of 35 homicides in the 2024 calendar year. It's not the deadliest year Maine has ever seen, but it was close to tying for the 2nd deadliest ever.

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The year prior, in 2023, Maine saw a staggering 53 homicides state wide, including the tragic deaths of 18 people killed in the Lewiston mass shooting. That mass shooting, along with all the other homicides that occurred, made 2023 the deadliest year ever for Vacationland.

What about alleged killings that were never prosecuted?

The KJ goes on to report that the Office of The Chief Medical Examiner performed autopsies on 50 people in 2024 that were suspected victims of homicides. However, because not all of those deaths resulted in eventual prosecutions, they cannot be added to the annual total.

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The second part of 2024 saw the highest number of homicides, including seven occurring in July and six in October. Many of these incidents happened in clusters, with two or three cases occurring within the span of a week.

How does 2024 compare to the last decade in Maine?

When it comes to annual homicides, 2024 has the second most of the last 10 years, with 2023 being the highest, primarily due to the Lewiston mass shooting. The lowest number of annual homicides came in 2016 with 'only' 16.

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The Maine department of Public Safety put out an easy-to-read graph of homicides by year over the next decade. This graph is included below.

Maine Department of Public Safety
Maine Department of Public Safety
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Click here to review a list of all Maine's 2024 homicide victims

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Gallery Credit: Chris Sedenka

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