OLD ORCHARD BEACH – Police have charged a man with murder in connection with the death of his roommate.

Dustan Bentley, 40, was arrested around 6 p.m., charged with murder and taken to York County Jail, according to Maine Public Safety Spokesman Stephen McCausland. Bentley was charged with the death of 65-year old William Popplewell.

Accordng to the State Medical Examiner’s Office, Popplewell died from stabbing and blunt force trauma. His death was reported to police around 10:30 p.m. Monday, according to McCausland,

The two men had been living together in an apartment at 5 Boisvert St. for the past two months and had known each other from previous stays at the Oxford Street shelter in Portland, according to McCausland.

Bentley will make is first appearance in York County Superior Court at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

The two -story, multi-unit building at 5 Boisvert St. is located just footsteps away from the beach, surrounded by condominiums and hotels that are typically full to capacity and bustling with activity in the summer.

This time of year, it’s a different story.

“It’s very quiet around here,” said Susan Croteau, who was taking her dog for a walk on the beach. She said she and her family are staying in a nearby condominium owned by her brother-in law this winter while their home is under construction elsewhere.

She said though the units in the buildings on Boisvert Street are typically seasonal rentals, the people she’s seen living in the neighborhood this winter have been long-term winter renters, and not transients.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be reached at 780-9015 or by email at egotthelf@journaltribune.com.

 

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