Suspect charged for stealing donation bins for murdered Maine woman

WATERVILLE (WGME) -- Police have charged someone with stealing donation bins meant for the family of a murdered Waterville woman.

Police charged 31-year-old Christopher Hodges with two counts of theft for stealing two donation bins which had been placed to benefit the family of Melissa Sousa.

The donation bins had been placed at Dunkin’ on College Avenue and on Upper Main Street in Waterville.

Hodges was identified as the suspect through surveillance video, according to police.

Hodges was at the Kennebec County Jail on an unrelated violation of probation. He was charged on Saturday, according to police.

Sousa was found dead in her Waterville home in October, and her former coworkers at the Dunkin’ on College Avenue decided to help pay for her funeral by collecting donations.

Court documents state Sousa was shot twice by her boyfriend, Nicholas Lovejoy.

Lovejoy claims he shot her after she allegedly pushed him down the stairs and tried to shoot him, but the gun didn’t fire.

Multiple interviews with family members state that Lovejoy was abusing Sousa and had threatened her life and other family members in the past.an.