Domingus Nobrega, on screen at right, appears for his arraignment through a Zoom video stream in Cumberland County Superior Court in Portland on Wednesday. Nobrega is accused of killing Matthew Merrick in Portland last weekend. Standing in the foreground is Randall Bates, attorney for the day who was assisting Nobrega at the hearing. Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald

A Portland man has been charged with murder in the death of another city man whose body was found in a West End apartment Saturday, police said Wednesday.

Police responded to a report of a death in an apartment at 24 Marshall St. on Saturday evening and found the body of Matthew Merrick, 43, of Portland.

An autopsy by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined his death to be the result of a homicide – the 29th in Maine so far in 2024, according to state police. The case is one of two homicides announced by Maine police Wednesday. State police arrested a Westbrook man on Tuesday evening and charged him with murder in the death of his roommate last month.

Portland police arrested Domingus Nobrega, 48, of Portland, at the Walmart in Scarborough on Tuesday. A spokesperson for the police department declined to answer questions about whether the two men knew each other or about Merrick’s cause of death. Court records about Nobrega’s arrest were impounded Wednesday afternoon, according to a clerk.

Merrick worked as a cook at Andy’s Old Port Pub on Commercial Street for about a year. The owner, Tanya Lowell, described him as a sweet, upbeat man with an “incredible outlook” on life.

Although he stopped working there in June, Lowell said Merrick visited often to see his former co-workers and join her for an early morning coffee before the pub opened. He will always be a part of the Andy’s family, she said.

Merrick’s mother, South Portland resident Debra Kelly, said the man police arrested was one of her son’s roommates.

Kelly said police told her not to speak about the case, but she said her son was the type of person to greet everyone with a hug when he entered a room.

“He was passionate to all of his cousins and family members, and that’s all I can tell you,” Kelly said on a phone call Wednesday afternoon. “I’ve been getting a lot of messages through my phone saying how great a kid Matthew was.”

Merrick grew up in South Portland before moving to Portland after graduating high school in the mid-2000s, she said.

Kelly said her son did “a lot of jobs,” including working as a sous-chef. Though he had no formal training, he learned from those around him and taught himself to cook, she said.

“I called him Matt of all trades,” she said.

Ella Cappello, a bartender at Andy’s, said Merrick had “a lot of struggles,” but he cared deeply about his former co-workers. She said they worked together there for about a year.

Cappello said she and other employees had heard about Merrick’s death the day after it happened, but they were shocked at the determination that it was ruled a homicide. She said Merrick had a few health problems.

“I would have thought it would been health-related,” she said of his death. “It caught us all by surprise. It’s definitely added a different element of tragedy and shock.”

After his arrest, Nobrega was brought to the Cumberland County Jail, where he was being held without bail. At his initial court appearance Wednesday afternoon, Superior Justice Deborah Cashman said he’s allowed to challenge his bail in a future hearing after she finds him a court-appointed attorney. He was temporarily represented by Randall Bates.

Nobrega faces one count of intentional or knowing murder. He appeared in court over Zoom, tilting the camera several times to obscure the upper half of his face. He did not have to enter a plea because he hasn’t yet been indicted by a grand jury.

Cashman, who had to interrupt Nobrega several times as he tried to publicly discuss his case, said she hoped to find him a lawyer by Friday.

“These are extremely serious charges, and if you say something without having counsel appointed to you, it could detrimentally affect your case,” Cashman said. “So I am going to say you should not speak now.”

According to a background check by the state bureau of investigation, Nobrega has faced multiple felony charges since 2020 that were dismissed, including domestic violence aggravated assault and violating conditions of his release.

Investigators ask anyone with information about the case to call 207-874-8575.

Staff Writer Daniel Kool contributed reporting.