AUGUSTA – A Readfield man was shot to death while sitting in a chair in his home Tuesday night by a tenant who then robbed him, torched the home and fled, according to court documents.
That scenario was described in an affidavit supporting murder, arson and robbery charges against David B. Silva Jr., 32, a tenant in Robert A. Orr’s home at 447 Church Road.
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Arrested Thursday by a state police tactical team after a brief standoff in Carver, Mass., Silva waived extradition early Friday in a Brockton, Mass., court and will make his initial court appearance in Maine at 8:30 a.m. Monday in Kennebec County Superior Court.
Silva was to be brought to the Kennebec County jail in Augusta late Friday or early today.
The affidavit filed in the Kennebec County Superior court says Silva told his girlfriend — Lindsay Spence, 24, who was also living at Orr’s — he had found a safe, money and guns at the home and planned to rob Orr.
Spence told investigators she woke up to the sound of gunshots Tuesday night. Silva told her, “Come on. We’ve got to get out of here,” the affidavit says.
Spence said she saw Orr’s body slouched in a chair “and his head was gone,” according to the affidavit.
Silva told Spence to wait for him at a gas station in Manchester. When he arrived, Silva told her he had set the Orr home ablaze, investigators said. Silva and Spence then drove to Massachusetts.
The couple stopped at a gas station in Massachusetts, where Silva changed clothes, and the pair stayed at a hotel en route to Silva’s parents’ home in Carver, according to the affidavit.
Spence told investigators Silva wrapped the murder weapon in a T-shirt and threw it in the trash at a friend’s home, then sold Orr’s guns and jewelry. Silva then purchased six bags of heroin and abandoned Orr’s pickup and dog at a Marshfield, Mass., beach.
“Spence stated Silva told her if she talked, she would end up like Robert Orr,” the affidavit said.
Deputy Attorney General William Stokes said authorities have located Spence, and that he does not anticipate charges against her.
Meanwhile, family members spent Friday remembering Orr as a craftsman who loved to laugh and be with his family.
“He tried to be a big tough guy, but he was a teddy bear,” said brother Raymond Orr, a senior sergeant with the Carver Police Department.
Orr was the kind to help out when his family needed something. So when his sister, Nancy Mooney, asked if Spence and Silva — her friends — could stay with the Orrs while the young couple got on their feet, Robert and Janet Orr agreed.
“My brother opened the door to them because they were in need,” Raymond Orr said. “Bob never cared about what people did in the past. If you were in need, Bob opened his door to you.”
Mooney, who lived with Robert and Janet Orr at the time, had worked with Spence as a pet groomer, Raymond Orr said.
Janet Orr said Thursday that Mooney moved to Portland about a week after Spence and Silva moved in.
Raymond Orr said he has not been able to speak to his sister since the fire, but he has talked to her son.
“Obviously, she feels a lot of guilt,” Raymond Orr said. “It’s not her fault.”
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