The Waldoboro woman arrested Wednesday for the murder of her former boyfriend allegedly told Maine State Police detectives she shot Norman Benner in his sleep, last month, after he told her he planned to leave her.
Arline Seavey, also known as Arline Lawless, made her first court appearance in Lincoln County Superior Court Friday.
Seavey is charged with shooting 34-year-old Norman Benner of Waldoboro at the home the couple lived in at 2177 Friendship Rd. in Waldoboro. Seavey suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the face and has been treated for that injury since July 23, when Benner’s body was discovered by his relatives inside the home.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the arrest warrant. Aug. 7, Det. Abbe Chabot and Det. Corey Pike separately interviewed Seavey and were both told the same story.
In a July 23 interview at Maine Medical Center, Seavey told Pike she shot Benner one time because he was going to leave her. Chabot wrote in her affidavit that Seavey told Pike she shot herself five times, after shooting Benner.
Chabot’s affidavit states that Seavey repeated that narrative when Chabot interviewed her the following day.
Benner and Seavey lived together, rent-free, on the ground floor of the house where the shooting took place. The house is owned Jeremy McPhee, who also lives at the single-family home.
The body of Norman Benner was discovered in his bed by his sister, Kimberly Benner and reported in a 911 call to Lincoln County Communications Center. Waldoboro Police Officer Jeffrey Fuller responded to the report, finding Benner deceased and Seavey “incoherent and injured next to Norman Benner,” according to the affidavit.
As Fuller was leaving the dwelling, he observed McPhee walking toward the residence. McPhee was questioned by Maine State Police Detective Adam Kelley and told the detective that he heard snoring coming from Benner and Seavey’s bedroom at approximately 7:30 p.m. on July 21, the affidavit said.
The 25-year-old Seavey was transported for medical treatment and arrested as she was being discharged from the Spring Harbor treatment center in Westbrook.
According to the affidavit, Kimberly Benner and her mother, Dawn Benner, told Maine State Police Det. Ryan Brockway that Seavey had sent Norman Benner a series of text messages, saying she was afraid of McPhee “because he was acting oddly.”
The affidavit states that the Benner family thought Seavey did this in an attempt to get him to come to the house at 2177 Friendship Rd. to see her. Dawn and Kimberly Benner told Brockway that Norman Benner had planned to tell Seavey on July 21 that he was leaving her, and that he planned to return to his family’s home after that conversation.
Seavey was transported to the Cumberland County Jail in Portland, where she is now being held.
This story will be updated on this web page and in the upcoming print edition of The Lincoln County News.