Carrabassett Valley man charged in girlfriend’s shooting death pleads not guilty
A 24-year-old Carrabassett Valley man has pleaded not guilty to murder in the March shooting death of his girlfriend, a 23-year-old Connecticut woman who had recently moved to Maine to be with him.
Austin J. Doucette entered his plea Tuesday via video from the Franklin County Detention Center in Farmington, where he has been held since his arrest. A judge set his bail at $500,000, and no hearing on that bail has been scheduled.
A Franklin County grand jury indicted Doucette in April on a charge of intentional or knowing murder. In Maine, a conviction on that charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years to life.
Makayla DeSantis, 23, died on March 8 after being shot twice in the chest at Doucette's condominium at 1215 Left Bank in Carrabassett Valley. She was taken first to MaineHealth Franklin Hospital in Farmington and then flown by medical helicopter to MaineHealth Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she died during surgery.
Doucette has told police the shooting was accidental. According to investigators, he attempted to drive DeSantis toward a Farmington hospital after the shooting, but ambulance crews responding to his 911 call intercepted his vehicle along the way.
DeSantis was originally from Colchester, Connecticut, and worked at 45 North, a restaurant at the Sugarloaf Mountain Hotel in Carrabassett Valley. Doucette also worked for Sugarloaf in a different role. The couple had been together since May 2018 and maintained a long-distance relationship until DeSantis relocated to Maine in 2024.
According to a police affidavit, co-workers of DeSantis told investigators that Doucette had spent weeks sending text messages in which he belittled and demeaned her, and that he had threatened to hurt her. The affidavit formed part of the basis for the murder charge.
Tuesday's arraignment was brief, lasting about five minutes, and was conducted entirely over Zoom. Franklin County Superior Court Judge Andrew Robinson presided in Farmington. Doucette was represented by attorney Verne Paradie, while Assistant Attorneys General Katherine Bozeman and Andrew Berggren appeared for the state.
Doucette remains in custody at the Franklin County Detention Center pending further court proceedings.
