Bangor triple homicide investigation leaves state, police say

BANGOR, Maine — Detectives trying to find out who is responsible for the deaths of three people found a week ago in a car that was left ablaze in a dark parking lot are following out-of-state leads, Bangor Sgt. Paul Edwards said Tuesday.

At the same time, rumors circulating that the three were on a hit list has friends and relatives of the homicide victims running scared that they too may be on the list, the sergeant said.

The three homicide victims — Daniel T. Borders, 26, of Hermon, Nicolle A. Lugdon, 24, of Eddington, and Lucas A. Tuscano, 28, of Bradford — were found burned beyond recognition inside a white Pontiac with Rhode Island plates that was discovered on fire early on Aug. 13.

"I can tell you we've gone out of state," Edwards said of the investigation, but declined to release where specifically, saying only that detectives are following leads somewhere in New England.

No arrests have been made, he said.

The car was driven by an out-of-state man who comes to Maine on occasion, always in a rental car, the victims' friends have said, using his name, which the Bangor Daily News is withholding because he has not been charged with any crime.

The out-of-state man, who friends say knew Lugdon and Borders, reportedly knocked on the front door of a Bangor apartment about 1 a.m. on Aug. 13 and left with the three homicide victims, possibly to go smoke marijuana.

Police are not saying if they have interviewed the out-of-state man.

"I can't answer that," Edwards said.

A woman driving to work discovered the Pontiac ablaze at about 3:30 a.m. on Aug. 13 in the back parking lot of Automatic Distributors, located at 22 Target Industrial Circle.

A person walking away from the burning car appears in video surveillance images taken from the business, an employee and Edwards have said.

Whether the person in the video is the same man who picked up Borders, Lugdon and Tuscano is a question that police are trying to answer. While Bangor continues to be the lead investigative agency, the Maine attorney general's office took over the case shortly after the medical examiner determined that the deaths were homicides.

Bangor police have partnered with Maine State Police detectives and investigators from the state fire marshal's office, all of whom continue to probe the triple homicide, Edwards said.

Friends of the victims have called police about reports that there is a hit list, he said.

"People are saying it on Facebook," Edwards said. "We've heard that there is a list. I have no idea if there is or not."

A friend of Lugdon, whose sister was dating Borders, called police about the rumored hit list.

"She's is convinced there is a list and she's on it," the sergeant said.

No one that Edwards is aware of has asked for police protection, he said.

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