Police believe a Speirs Street woman who was killed by her boyfriend last week was a victim of domestic violence.

Bonnie Hayes, 42, was shot in the head with a handgun during an argument some time last Thursday morning with David Pomeroy, 50, who then turned the gun on himself, State Police said. Police found evidence of alcohol consumption and possible drug use at the scene of the crime.

Hayes’ and Pomeroy’s bodies were found by a friend of the couple at the Speirs Street apartment they shared at around 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Westbrook Police Chief Paul McCarthy said State Police, which have jurisdiction over most homicides in Maine, took over the investigation almost immediately following the discovery of the bodies.

State Police detectives now believe the incident occurred late in the morning Thursday as opposed to Wednesday evening, as they had originally believed, according to Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety. Hayes had called her mother late Thursday morning, according to McCausland.

McCausland said the incident appears to be a clear-cut case of domestic violence. The couple was found on their living room floor amidst the scene of what was obviously some sort of struggle. The room was in disarray with things strewn about and what appeared to be food thrown against one of the walls.

The weapon, a .45-caliber handgun, lay near Pomeroy’s hand. The police found evidence of alcohol consumption and also possible drug use – a bag of pills and white powder on a kitchen counter. Police said the evidence will be analyzed as part of the investigation.

Police said there had been a history of trouble between Hayes and Pomeroy. In 2001, a fight between the couple resulted in a shotgun blast through the ceiling of their Brown Street residence. In that incident, Pomeroy was charged for accidental or reckless discharge of the shotgun.

McCausland said detectives will be talking to friends and relatives of the pair to get a clearer picture of their relationship. “We will continue to work over the next weeks or months to find out what we can in an effort to prevent future cases,” he said.

It appears the couple had lived in various residences together and apart in Westbrook in what appears to have been a stormy on-and-off relationship stretching over the last decade, according to State Police.

The couple had only been living for a month or so at the Speirs Street residence, where Pomeroy, a self-employed carpenter, was working on the vacant upstairs apartment for the landlord. Hayes, who worked for many years in various Portland restaurants, had recently taken a position in the kitchen at the Holiday Inn on Riverside Drive.

On Thursday night, the Family Crisis Services center of Portland will hold a vigil at Riverbank Park at 6 p.m. Speakers at the vigil will include Michael Cantara, Maine commissioner of public safety, and Lois Galgay Reckitt, executive director of the Family Crisis Center.

Hayes is survived by her mother and stepfather, Sharon and Richard Binette, and siblings Scott Hayes and Kristen Hayes.

A memorial service for Hayes will be held on the morning of Wednesday, Jan. 25, at 11 a.m. at the Portland Faith Center on New Portland Road in Gorham, followed by a burial at Brooklawn Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Hayes’ name to Crossroads for Women, 66 Pearl Street, Portland, Maine, 04101.

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