PORTLAND — William Hanaman fatally stabbed his former girlfriend last week and then wrote a suicide note before overdosing on her pills, according to court documents released Thursday.

Rescue workers took Hanaman to Maine Medical Center, where he was treated and regained consciousness two days later.

Now Hanaman, a 51-year-old carpenter, is charged with murdering Marion Shea, a 47-year-old mother of five who lived in Gorham.

Hanaman was in court Wednesday for his initial appearance on the charge. He is to be treated at the state's Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta because he remains suicidal.

Hanaman dated Shea for years. He was charged with domestic violence assault against her on Oct. 7, and was forbidden to have contact with her after that because of a bail condition. That charge is still pending.

On Thursday, Superior Court Justice Thomas Warren unsealed the police affidavit that laid out the probable cause officers had for arresting Hanaman.

The affidavit, prepared by Detective Richard Vogel, describes how police were called to Hanaman's apartment at 1021 Ocean Ave. around 11:35 a.m. on Nov. 11, after Hanaman's sister got worried about him. She said Hanaman had seemed despondent and had left personal belongings at her house.

Nobody answered the door when the landlord and one of the sister's friends tried to get in. The shades were drawn and the was door locked, so they called police.

When officers arrived, they found the door chained shut. They had to use bolt-cutters to get into the apartment. Inside, music was playing and several candles were burning.

They found Shea's body under a blanket on the bedroom floor and Hanaman, barely conscious and unresponsive, lying next to her, the court papers said.

Loose prescription pills, pill bottles with Shea's name on them and straws – sometimes used to ingest drugs nasally – were on the floor, the court papers said. Police also found empty liquor bottles in the apartment and an apparent suicide note on the kitchen counter.

State Medical Examiner Dr. Margaret Greenwald later determined that Shea died of multiple stab wounds, and that wounds on her hands indicated she tried to defend herself, the affidavit said.

Officers found two knives in the kitchen sink, one of them with reddish-brown stains around the hilt. A plaid flannel shirt and a towel found in the closet had similar stains.

Police charged Hanaman with Shea's death on Tuesday, bringing him to the Cumberland County Jail, where he was sent to the infirmary. He is being held without bail pending trial.

Staff Writer David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at:

dhench@pressherald.com