(Image via wgme.com)

Social Media Manager: Olivia Beaudette

Email: obeaudette@umassd.edu

On October 6, around 7 a.m. in Bath, Maine, police arrived at the Bailey family home after reports of a shooting.

When officers arrived, they found Lisa Bailey (58) and Jennifer Bailey (32) suffering from gunshot wounds. First responders tried life-saving measures, but unfortunately, both women died at the scene.

The suspect fled the scene.

The suspect is believed to be Michael Bailey (66). Michael Bailey is the husband of Lisa Bailey and father of Jennifer Bailey.

Maine State Police Tactical Team found Michael Bailey dead from self-inflicted gunshot wounds inside the home.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will perform autopsies on the three bodies.

Allegedly, Michael Bailey was abusive, and recently, the abuse had worsened.

Jennie would drive home after work to be with her mom to keep her safe from Michael Bailey’s abuse.

However, according to the criminal record history provided by the Maine Bureau of Identification, Michael Bailey never faced any charges of domestic violence.

After Bath Police responded to the Bailey home twice in one day, Lisa Bailey finally decided to file for divorce against Michael Bailey.

Those two reports occurred on September 24, when police received a report of an assault with a knife at around 8:30 a.m. and returned for another report at 2 p.m. after someone reported a family fight.

This led Lisa to finally be ready to file for divorce, Jennie helped Lisa fill out the paperwork. She was also ready to file protection from abuse orders.

Shortly after these reports, the shooting occurred. 

Few details have been released about the shooting. However, a neighbor who wishes to remain anonymous was a witness to the shooting.

The neighbor claimed he saw Michale shoot a woman in the back as they were getting into their car to leave. He said that Michael then went back into the house, and after some time, he heard a final gunshot from inside the home.

The neighbor also said he was new to the neighborhood and didn’t know the Bailey’s very well. But he saw when the police arrived at their home on September 24. So when he heard noise from their house that morning, he looked through his window to see what was happening.

This is when he witnessed Michael shoot Lisa.

After police arrived at the scene, they released an emergency “shelter in place,” which was shortly lifted when they found Michael Bailey’s body.

The ‘shelter in place’ left the community concerned and unsure about what was happening. But Bath Police Chief Andrew Booth made sure to let residents know that they were safe.

Police are still investigating the incident and are working on putting together a timeline of events.

Many residents of the area were shocked and concerned by the news of the shooting.

The chief stated, “Bath is a very close-knit community. Things like this don’t happen a lot.” 

He also said, “Everybody knows everybody around here, and we’re going to get through it as a community.”

There is now a small memorial on the front lawn of the home of the shooting. Many community members have left flowers to honor Lisa and Jennie Bailey. 

After this shooting, friends of Jennie talked highly of her and took this as a chance to talk about domestic violence.

Jennie’s friend Kerry Smith said, “I should have seen this red flag, but so should law enforcement.” Smith believes the police could have done a better job of preventing the murder.

In Maine, from 2020 to 2023, 49% of homicides were domestic abuse homicides. 

This recent murder shines a light on the fact that more has to be done for domestic abuse victims.