The man killed Wednesday night while mixing explosives in his basement in Lincoln has been identified as 67-year-old Robert Stuart.

Stuart was killed instantly around 7 p.m. at his home on Stanhope Mill Road in the Penobscot County town, the state Fire Marshal’s Office said Thursday. Officials said Stuart had been experimenting with explosives in recent months.

Stuart’s wife, Sarah, who was home but not injured in the explosion, told investigators that her husband had been making the devices to blow up tree stumps.

The Maine State Police bomb team found five improvised explosive devices in the basement and exploded them in Stuart’s backyard, along with other bomb-making materials found on the property, fire officials said.

Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, said Wednesday night there was “no indication of anything foul” beyond the explosion.

The FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have been called in to assist with the investigation by tracking down where and when Stuart purchased the bomb-making materials.

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An autopsy will be done at the state Medical Examiner’s Office in Augusta.

Gillian Graham can be contacted at 791-6315 or at:

ggraham@pressherald.com

Twitter: grahamgillian


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