Arrest in South Gardiner murder investigation

GARDINER, Maine – A man has been charged with murder in a South Gardiner homicide investigation after police conducted a welfare check and found the body of a deceased man outside a home Friday afternoon.

At around 3:40 p.m. on Friday, Gardiner police responded to a home on Bartlett Street after a family member checked on the residents’ well-being. The body of a deceased man was found outside the home, according to a news release from Shannon Moss, spokeswoman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

The Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit Central and the Maine State Police Evidence Recovery Team arrived at the scene.

The Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta conducted an autopsy and concluded that blunt force trauma was the man’s cause of death, Moss said. His death was ruled a homicide.

Gregory Fisher, 52, of South Gardiner was arrested and charged with murder, Moss said. Fisher was taken to the Kennebec County Jail and is scheduled to make his first court appearance Monday.

The investigation is ongoing.