Police Arrest, Charge Man in Deaths of 2 Found in Maine Home

SOUTH PARIS, Maine (AP) - State police have arrested a 49-year-old man and charged him with murder in connection with the deaths of a man and woman in western Maine.

The bodies of Heather Bickford and Dana Hill, both 31, were found in their South Paris apartment Tuesday. Their children, a 2-month-old and an 8-year-old, were unharmed and placed in the care of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.

Authorities say Mark Penley, of the town of Peru, was arrested Thursday at the Rumford Police Department. Penley had gone there to be interviewed by detectives. Police found the bodies after Penley made a 911 call reporting the deaths.

Penley has been brought to the Oxford County Jail and will appear Friday in court. A Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman did not know if he had a lawyer.