Watch: Lewiston woman pleads not guilty in Litchfield murder case (2024)

AUGUSTA — A Lewiston woman pleaded not guilty Tuesday in the murder of a Litchfield man who authorities say was strangled and stabbed to death in his home.

Speaking through tears, Shari Allimah, 56, who is being held without bail and had her hands shackled to her waist at her arraignment, pleaded not guilty to depraved indifference murder in the May 10 death of Gerald Marin, 90.

Police found Marin’s body May 18 at his 1724 Hallowell Road home in Litchfield. It was covered in blood, naked and face down, with an apparent stab wound in his chest and a ligature tied around his neck, according to an affidavit filed by Maine State Police Detective Erin James.

The state’s chief medical examiner determined the manner of death was homicide and cause of death was strangulation associated with multiple sharp force injuries. James’ affidavit states a fabric ligature was wrapped around Marin’s neck multiple times and tied in several knots.

Police located Allimah after tracking down Marin’s pickup truck in Lewiston. She told them she knew Marin, admitted to being in his truck and home, and said they had a sexual relationship. She also admitted that Marin picked her up in Lewiston the day police said he died, and that they returned to his home in Litchfield.

Allimah told police she and Marin then had sex, “but that it was rough and eventually she stated she was raped,” the affidavit states. The affidavit said Allimah had visible injuries to her face and hands, and complained of pain, which she said was caused by Marin, in her chest and back. She told police when Marin got in the shower she stole his truck and cellphone and left. She told detectives Marin was alive when she left.

“When detectives confronted Shari Allimah that Gerald Marin was found deceased on the floor of his locked house and she was the last person to see him alive, Shari replied, ‘If did it; I don’t remember and I deserve the death penalty,'” the affidavit says.

Police were called to the Litchfield home May 18 after Marin’s brother asked for a welfare check on him because he had not heard from him in five days. A Kennebec County Sheriff’s deputy responded around noon and found Marin’s home’s doors locked and no vehicle in the driveway, and didn’t notice anything of concern.

Marin’s brother then decided to come look for Marin. He entered the house through the garage and, opening the bedroom door, found a bloody scene and a body covered in a blanket. He backed out of the room and called 911.

Kennebec County Deputy Ivano Stefanizzi responded and found Marin’s body, secured the property, and called the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit.

At the Capital Judicial Center Tuesday, Allimah responded to a series of questions from Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy, including whether she understood that, if found guilty, she could spend the rest of her life in prison. She answered, “Yes,” through tears.

Allimah’s appointed defense attorneys, Steve Smith and Kayla Alves, did not object to prosecutor Lisa Bogue’s motion that she be held without bail, pending a hearing at which bail could be considered.

A scheduling order in the case indicates it could go to trial in April 2026.

According to the affidavit, once Marin’s body was found, police issued an attempt to locate bulletin for his Ford Ranger pickup truck, which Lewiston police found May 19 parked in front of an apartment building on Webster Street in Lewiston. Neighbors there indicated the truck had been there a lot in the last month and they had seen a younger male and female getting out of it. Local residents, the affidavit said, described the apartment building as a drug house.

Police searched the truck and found reddish brown stains on the interior driver’s side door. Marin’s phone was inside, as were two vehicle titles belonging to another man. The man listed on those titles said Allimah, his niece, had broken into his house in January and stolen a safe, which held the titles.

State police then determined Allimah lived in the Webster Street apartment building and had active arrest warrants. They arrested her and brought her to the Lewiston police station for an interview. She told police she and Marin had a sexual relationship and Marin wanted her to move in with him. She said she had been to the American Legion with Marin on several occasions.

Police on May 21 obtained a search warrant for Allimah’s DNA, clothing, fingerprints and footprints and, while a member of the state police Evidence Response Team was taking a swab of DNA from inside her mouth, she allegedly asked if it was “because I bit him because he attacked me?” the affidavit said.

Police interviewed a woman May 21 whom they said knew both Marin and Allimah, who told them she overheard Allimah asking for crack May 11 at another apartment on Webster Street, because, she said, “she was going away for a long time.” She also said she had seen Allimah in Marin’s truck several times in the last several weeks and, when she heard Marin was dead, she guessed Allimah had done it.