Several law enforcement vehicles are seen Dec. 20, 2024, at 2005 Summerhaven Road in Sidney. Megan McDonald, 39, was indicted by a Kennebec County grand jury Feb. 19 on charges of murder for allegedly killing Quincy McDonald, 14, at the residence. Keith Edwards/Kennebec Journal file

AUGUSTA — A Sidney woman accused of killing a 14-year-old boy at their Sidney home was indicted by a Kennebec County grand jury Feb. 19 on charges of murder and aggravated cruelty to animals.

Quincy McDonald From the 2023-24 Messalonskee Middle School yearbook

Megan McDonald, 39, was indicted on charge of intentional or knowing or depraved indifference murder for allegedly killing Quincy McDonald, 14, who is believed to be her son, Dec. 19, 2024.

Authorities previously declined to release the boy’s name, or his relationship to Megan McDonald. However, The indictment states Megan McDonald “did intentionally or knowingly cause the death of another human being, namely Quincy McDonald, or did engage in conduct that manifested a depraved indifference to the value of human life and which in fact cause the death of Quincy McDonald.”

Also, a Quincy, with the same date of birth as listed in the indictment, is listed as a child of McDonald in a divorce judgment filed in Lewiston District Court in 2015.

Megan McDonald was arrested Dec. 20, 2024, and charged with murder. The arrest came after police found Quincy McDonald dead outside their 2005 Summerhaven Road residence.

McDonald showed up at the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office in Auburn shortly before 5:30 a.m. and said she wanted to report a murder.

When Kennebec County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the home, they found the body of a 14-year-old boy outside. Maine State Police detectives and evidence response team technicians spent much of the day at the beige, single-story house, where a U.S. Marine Corps flag could be seen hanging from the corner of the building.

It is not known why McDonald traveled from her home north of Augusta to Auburn to report the crime. The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office, in Auburn, is about a 40-mile drive from the Sidney residence, according to GPS mapping.

The Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta determined the cause of the boy’s death as “a combination of asphyxiation, manual strangulation, and sharp force injury,” according to state police. The medical examiner’s office also ruled the manner of death as homicide.

The aggravated cruelty to animals indictment alleges Megan McDonald, on the same day as Quincy’s alleged murder, also killed a dog, two turtles and a lizard, stating she “… in a manner manifesting depraved indifference to animal life or suffering, did intentionally, knowingly or recklessly, caused the death of an animal.”

At Megan McDonald’s initial court appearance Dec. 27, 2024, Superior Court Justice Daniel Mitchell ordered McDonald to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. In the meantime she remains at Kennebec County jail, held without bail. McDonald is being represented by criminal defense attorneys Scott Hess and Lisa Whittier.

McDonald served in the U.S. Marine Corps from June 23, 2003, to Aug. 10, 2010, and was discharged with the rank of lance corporal, according to information provided by Maj. Melissa Spencer, director of COMMSTRAT for the Manpower and Reserve Affairs division at the Marines’ headquarters.

McDonald had recently worked as a nurse, both in practice and as a part-time lecturer in the University of Maine System.

The Maine Board of Nursing database shows an active registered nurse license for Megan Kathleen McDonald of Sidney, expiring in March 2026. Her name did not appear in any disciplinary actions maintained by the board.