A Portland police officer enters 503 Woodford St. after a fatal stabbing Monday. Police announced Tuesday that a man is in custody and charged with murder in connection with the stabbing of an employee at the Woodford Street group home, run by nonprofit Shalom House. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)
A Portland man is charged with murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of an employee at a nonprofit residential facility, police say.
Armando Javier Negrete, 40, a resident at the Shalom House group home on Woodford Street, was arrested Monday, a Portland police spokesperson said in a news release Tuesday morning.
Negrete is being held at the Cumberland County Jail without bail, according to jail staff.
He is accused of fatally stabbing Marlene McNeill, 40, of Gorham. McNeill was taken to Maine Medical Center, where she was later pronounced dead, police said.
Shalom House, a Portland nonprofit that runs housing programs for adults with severe mental illness, confirmed Monday evening that an employee died in “a tragic incident this morning involving violence.”
“Our deepest condolences and thoughts are with our employee’s family and her large community of friends, which includes her Shalom House community,” the organization said in a statement it released through its attorney. “Our immediate focus is the well being of her family, our employees and our clients.”
Mea Tavares, who worked with McNeill at Shalom House just over a decade ago, described her as a caring, hardworking person who knew how to deescalate conflict.
Tavares was shocked to learn about the stabbing, which happened at the same group home where the two worked together.
While the job can be stressful, Tavares said McNeill was a grounded and compassionate worker who wanted to help others thrive. The eight-hour shifts at the group home included administering medication to residents and helping them with daily needs, Tavares said.
Residents of a Portland group home are evacuated by firefighters Monday after a stabbing. The residents were evacuated via the fire engine ladder to avoid the crime scene in the home’s hallway. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)
Tavares said McNeill’s death is a tragedy that highlights the importance of mental health resources.
“People like Marlene who are just showing up every single day to do their own individual part to help people live resourced, joyous, thriving lives … it’s all part of a bigger picture of a world under a lot of stress,” Tavares said.
Police were on scene at the home near the intersection of Woodford Street and Rosemont Avenue, just off Brighton Avenue, for several hours Monday. As they took photos and interviewed residents, onlookers told a reporter that police activity is unusual in their typically quiet neighborhood.
Other residents of the home were evacuated from a second-floor window to avoid the crime scene inside the building’s hallway, according to police officials. First responders directed the residents out of the window onto the extended ladder of a fire truck.
Police tape surrounds a fence at a property next to 503 Woodford St. in Portland on Monday during a criminal investigation. Officials announced Tuesday that a resident of the Shalom House group home has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with the death of an employee at the facility. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)
A knife could be seen lying in an adjacent yard, which police had marked and blocked off with crime scene tape.
Negrete is scheduled to make his first court appearance Wednesday afternoon, according to the state attorney general’s office.
This story will be updated.
