(Maine State Police)
A shaven-headed transgender man is accused of randomly broad daylight throat slitting of a 59-year-old woman in a Maine supermarket. State police have formally charged Connor MacCalister, 31, with the murder of Wendy Boudreau on the afternoon of August 19.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. MacCalister Told Witnesses That He Did it Because Bourdreau Looked at Him Funny
State Police in Maine are still investigating the killing of Boudreau and trying to ascertain a motive, reports the Portland Press Herald. Investigators do not believe that there is any connection between the two women. The attack happened in the ice-cream section of Shaw’s supermarket in Saco, Maine, at around 3 p.m. on August 19.
After Boudreau’s throat was slit, Connor MacCalister was tackled by other shoppers and held until cops arrived to arrest her. MacCalister told those witnesses that he did it because Boudreau “looked at him funny,” reports WMTWTV’s Courtney Sturgeon. Boudreau was rushed to Southern Maine Medical Center, where she died. Speaking to WSCH, witness Colin Esposito said “As I walked towards the frozen food section there was police caution tape in one of the aisles. I looked down the aisle and there was a massive pool of blood with the lady’s purse lying next to it, almost in the pool.”
At around 7 p.m. on August 20, MacCalister was formally charged with murder. WMTWTV’s Courtney Sturgeon tweeted that the suspect told arresting officers that his plan had been to continue attacking people in the supermarket. Documents in the case say that MacCalister had been planning the attack for more than a month because he was “angry with life” and wanted to take it out on someone.
2. MacCalister’s Last Facebook Status Update Said ‘Goodbye’ in German
(Facebook)
There have been no public updates to MacCalister’s Facebook page since February 2010. His last update read “Aufweidersehen!!!” The German word for goodbye. The last update before that read “Wie gehts Ihnen!! Was Fur ein Auto haben Sie?” Roughly translated it means “How are you all? What kind of car do you have?” he writes on his page that he’s went to Biddeford High School and that’s he’s interested in men. Speaking to the Portland Press Herald, MacCalister’s brother, Jeremy Hopkins, said that the suspect is a female-to-male transgender person and had been identifying as a male for the past few years. His birth name is Tanisha Hopkins. The paper further reports that where to house MacCalister had caused problems, he’s being held in a single cell at the York County jail. The state has ordered a psychological evaluation of the suspect.
3. Wendy Boudreau Was a Mother to 5 Children
Small memorial outside Shaws in Saco to remember 59 year old Wendy Boudreau who was stabbed there yesterday @WGME http://t.co/zIO7mWyZpy
WSCH reports that Wendy Boudreau was the mother to five adult children. Her family owned a contracting business in Saco. A neighbor of Wendy’s and her husband, Jeff, told the Press Herald “It’s going to be an awful loss for the whole family. All I know is she was an awesome woman.” That friend also said that Wendy Boudreau would frequently be seen on her lawn playing with her grandkids.
4. MacCalister Was Last in Trouble With the Law When He Was Accused of Criminal Mischief in 2011
(Maine State Police)
According to online records, Connor MacCalister was arrested for criminal mischief, a class D misdemeanor, in 2011. At the time he was a resident of Biddeford, Maine.
5. He Was Raised in Foster Care
(Facebook)
The suspect was raised among foster children in the Saco area. That’s according to the obituary for Patricia Hopkins, a Maine woman who was known for adopting foster children. Hopkins was parent to five foster children, MacCalister was her biological child. On MacCalister’s Facebook page, he’s friends with several people with the last name Hopkins. Neighbors told WMTW’s Courtney Sturgeon that MacCalister “always kept to herself.”