Fryeburg police Saturday released a new sketch of the man they say beat, stabbed and robbed the owner of a pet grooming business Tuesday.

Detective Dan Reed, a certified forensic sketch artist with the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office, created the sketch of the man who attacked Paulette Tuunanen, owner of Creature Comforts, at 169 Lovewell Pond Road.

Fryeburg police Sgt. Joshua Potvin said he and Reed spent several hours Saturday with Tuunanen.

“We have asked her to re-live the incident once again,” Potvin said. “Although the process is obviously traumatic for her, she realized its importance and did a great job. We are hoping that the forensic sketch will provide the public with a more detailed description of her attacker.”

The man police are seeking showed up at the door of Tuunanen’s grooming salon about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday holding a pregnant dog in distress, seeking help to deliver the puppies.

When Tuunanen started to use the business phone to call a veterinarian, the man made a reference about not wanting to go back to jail.

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Potvin said the man “became enraged” and began to hit Tuunanen with a statue that was on a shelf in the store.

She pulled out a pair of cutting shears in an attempt to defend herself but was disarmed by the man, who began to “stab her repeatedly,” Potvin said.

The man removed cash from her purse and donations that had been left in a countertop jar for animal-rescue purposes before leaving.

Police described the attacker as being in his late 20s or early 30s, about 5-foot-8 and wearing a camouflage baseball cap.

They said he had a missing tooth on the lower right side of his mouth and “severe acne.” He was wearing a green, canvas-style barn coat and black winter gloves.

Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact Potvin at 935-3323.


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