ARUNDEL — The plot has thickened in the bizarre case of a couple’s deaths in Arundel.
Matthew Coito, 63, who was found dead in the kitchen of his home at 45 Campground Road in Arundel on Wednesday, died of a gunshot wound, State Police confirmed Saturday.
While the official cause of death has yet to be determined, Maine Department of Public Safety Spokesman Steve McCausland said Saturday that Matthew Coito — who was located by relatives who hadn’t heard from him for several days — was found dead of a gunshot wound in his single-family home.
His wife, Sue Kim Coito, 65, who suffered from Alzheimer’s, was missing at the time of her husband’s discovery. Police said at the time it appeared Matthew Coito had been dead for several days.
It was unclear Saturday whether Matthew Coito’s wounds were self-inflicted or made at someone else’s will, McCausland said.
“That aspect of the case we have not concluded,” he said. “One of the key factors of hoping to get that answer was finding (Sue Kim).
“Once the autopsy is completed … that may give us some answers; it may not,” McCausland said.
McCausland did not have an estimate of when autopsy results would be returned.
Mark Belserene, administrator for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, said in an email Thursday an autopsy on Matthew Coito had been completed but that the office would not be releasing information pending further investigation into the case.
As of Monday, no further information from the medical examiner’s office was released, Belserene said in an email.
Sue Kim Coito’s body was found around 8 a.m. Friday, about 375 yards from a residence at 65 Campground Road. Her body will also undergo an autopsy.
McCausland said it is likely Sue Kim died of exposure, but was hesitant to jump to conclusions pending autopsy results.
“We also don’t know how long she had been there,” McCausland said. “The autopsy might help give us that answer as well.”
A search for the missing woman was launched Wednesday night and continued Thursday.
More than 25 wardens with the Maine Warden Service, assisted by 14 tracking dogs, began searching for Sue Kim’s body about 7 a.m. Friday, Lt. Kevin Adam said in a press conference at the Arundel Fire Station later that day.
Game Warden Cpl. Michelle Merrifield and her Dutch Shepard dog, Piper, came across the remains just after 8 a.m., having noticed footprints in the patches of snow. There was no word on the condition of her body or what she was wearing.
Police have labeled the deaths as suspicious, and are now working to find out how and if they might be related.
“The death is suspicious, but has been narrowed down to a couple of different scenarios,” Maine State Police Sgt. Chris Harriman said Friday.
McCausland also said there was no evidence of break-in at the Campground Road home.
“No one else was involved in this sad story other than the husband and wife.”
— Staff Writer Alan Bennett can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or abennett@journaltribune.com.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
