A 50-year-old Eastport man, Jason "Cowboy" Aubuchon, was shot in the head and killed in Perry the day after Christmas, and his 40-year-old former girlfriend, Danielle Wheeler, has been charged with murder. According to a police affidavit, there was a history of domestic violence by Wheeler against Aubuchon.
      The shooting occurred at Wheeler's home at 47 Tranquility Lane, off the Golding Road near Boyden's Lake. Officers from the Pleasant Point Police Department and the Washington County Sheriff's Office as well as EMTs arrived at the residence to find Aubuchon had been shot. He was transported to the Calais Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
      Following an investigation by Maine State Police detectives, an arrest warrant for the charge of murder was obtained on Thursday, December 30, for Wheeler, who was arrested without incident in Perry. Wheeler was transported to the Washington County Jail, where she is being held without bail.
      According to the affidavit by Maine State Police Detective Jason Fowler, when Wheeler called the Washington County Regional Communications Center at 8:52 p.m. on Sunday, December 26, she allegedly stated, "I just shot my ex-boyfriend." She also stated, "Lady, I've got to make a phone call and I'm going to jail as soon as they get here, and I need to have someone come to take care of my dogs."
      Also according to the affidavit, Wheeler allegedly admitted to police when they arrived at the scene that she had shot Aubuchon in the temple and that they had been arguing over drugs. The autopsy of Aubuchon, conducted at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta on December 27, found the cause of death to be a perforating gunshot wound to the head, and the death was ruled a homicide. The autopsy report also referenced healed and possibly sutured wounds on the torso and extremities.

History of domestic violence
      The alleged domestic violence by Wheeler against Aubuchon had been ongoing, according to the police affidavit. During the investigation of the shooting, one woman told Detective Fowler that she had received a voicemail message from Aubuchon mid-afternoon on December 26, stating that she should not call or text him because Wheeler would kill him if she found out.
      Two people reported to state police detectives that they had observed Wheeler stab Aubuchon with a fork in front of the Happy Crab restaurant in Eastport in the fall of 2020, and one person said Wheeler then tried to run him over with his vehicle. Another person told the police that Aubuchon told her about a month before the shooting that he needed a ride from Wheeler's house because he could not drive his truck after Wheeler had pistol whipped him. When the person picked up Aubuchon, he was bleeding from his face and hands.
      On February 2, 2020, a Portland police officer had arrested Wheeler for domestic assault on Aubuchon in the Motel 6 parking lot in Portland. According to the police officer's report, Aubuchon had blood all over his face and a welt over his right eye. He reportedly told the officer that Wheeler "does this all the time" and had stabbed and shot him in the past. No complaint was filed, as Aubuchon told the district attorney's office that he had "slipped and fallen on some ice."

A loss for the community
      Aubuchon's death is being mourned throughout the Eastport area, as many remember him as a kind and generous person. With his white cowboy hat -- which he would wear with his large orange fishing boots -- he was known as Cowboy. He had moved to Eastport about eight years ago, having previously lived in Florida and the southern part of the country.
      Since last spring Aubuchon had been working as the pier manager at Quoddy Bay Lobster, and before that he had been lobster fishing. Shelly Griffin, co-manager of Quoddy Bay Lobster, relates that when Aubuchon was hired she told him that because of her grandson's health issues she and other family members would not be able to be around, and he was asked if he could take care of the pier, ordering bait and arranging for the wholesale pick-ups. "He jumped right in feet first," says Griffin, and he then asked if he could start selling lobsters to local customers for Quoddy Bay. "He was kind, considerate and respectful. He did anything we asked. The customers really liked him, as he was very kind to them." She adds, "He was a people pleaser. He would call me ma'am - that southern hospitality." Even though he had health issues, Griffin says he never complained about them.
      David Oja was also a friend of Aubuchon and is raising funds through the sale of coasters made by Rowan Melton at his Quoddy Village shop, The Bazaar, to purchase a bench in Aubuchon's memory that will either be placed downtown or near The Bazaar at a spot where Aubuchon liked to sit. "He was always very, very good to me," says Oja, although Aubuchon "would drive me crazy. But I ended up loving him like he was my big brother. He called me little brother." He adds, "I was trying to help him deal with his demons." Although there were issues on which Aubuchon and Oja didn't agree, Aubuchon "respected me. He was always looking out for me, if we needed anything. He was like my big brother I don't have, and I love him." Of his generosity, Oja says, "He would take his clothes and give them to you."
      Aubuchon would stop by to see Oja at The Bazaar every day before heading off to work, and with a chuckle Oja relates, "Every time he closed the door he destroyed half the store. Everything would fall down, he was so strong."
      Another friend of Aubuchon, Treena Brunelle, says, "His presence is felt throughout town right now." She relates, "He was an all-around nice guy. He always had a smile on his face and was always willing to help somebody in need." He would take flowers for the residents at the nursing home or scallops for their Christmas dinner. She adds, "I would call him for anything." She remembers when she had a puppy with a chain collar and leash and had taken him swimming in the ocean and the puppy had lost his collar. She called Aubuchon and he "came to the rescue" with a "big ol' rope so I could take him back through town."
      "It's a big loss for our community," Brunelle says. "The community is in mourning right now."