The murder charge against Donnell Dana Jr., 40, in the April 2022 stabbing death of Kimberly Neptune of Sipayik has now been dropped by the state, following a nearly two-week trial in December of 2023 in which a jury found Kailie Brackett, 39, of Sipayik guilty of Neptune's murder but was unable to reach a verdict on the murder charge also brought against Dana. The hung jury in Dana's case resulted in a mistrial being declared on December 20 in Washington County Superior Court in Machias.
      According to Danna Hayes, special assistant to the Maine attorney general, "After careful consideration of the evidence that was presented and the jury's inability to reach a unanimous decision, and after consultation and input from the family, a decision was made to enter into plea negotiations."
      Following those negotiations, in January Dana pled guilty to a Class C felony charge of hindering apprehension and received a deferred disposition of one year. "If he is successful during the deferred disposition, he will be sentenced on a Class D hindering apprehension," says Hayes. "If he is not successful, it will be an open plea on the Class C hindering with a potential sentence of up to five years."
      Dana's attorney, Jeffrey Silverstein, says that, during the year that the sentence is deferred, Dana cannot break the law, cannot possess alcohol or drugs and must submit to random testing and a substance abuse evaluation. He is not allowed to be at Sipayik unless for court and is to have no contact with certain individuals. If Dana abides by those requirements he will face a Class D misdemeanor charge of hindering apprehension, which is subject to a sentence of up to one year, with credit for time served. Dana has already served 19 months in jail. If Dana does not follow all of the requirements he can be sentenced to up to five years in prison on a Class C felony charge of hindering apprehension.
      Silverstein says the hindering apprehension charge came about because, a few days after Neptune's death, the child of Dana and Brackett broke their wrist and needed surgery in Bangor. As the two were packing a car for the drive to Bangor, a woman a couple of houses away saw them remove garbage bags from the house at Sipayik. The state's theory was that they were removing evidence related to the killing for disposal, according to Silverstein.
      Following the mistrial in December on the murder charge, and in order to get released from jail, in January Dana entered an Alford plea in which he pled guilty to the hindering apprehension charge but disputes the facts of the case and maintains his innocence, Silverstein says. The murder charge was then dismissed by the state.
      "He's thrilled that the state determined he had nothing to do with the killing, by virtue of the dismissal of the charges," says Silverstein. "That's the status of the case. He was not convicted in the killing and is no longer facing charges. That is history."
      Brackett is reportedly planning to appeal her murder conviction, but the appeal cannot be filed until after she is sentenced, with the sentencing scheduled for February 26.
      Neptune's body had been found wrapped in a blanket inside her apartment on Thunder Road at Sipayik on April 21, 2022. According to the police affidavit, state police detectives were told by people they interviewed that Dana and Brackett allegedly had gone to Neptune's apartment to rob her and ended up attacking her and stealing Xanax, jewelry and money. The autopsy found that Neptune had 484 stab wounds and cuts on her body.
      Neptune's murder and the trial of Bracket and Dana have been traumatic for the close-knit Sipayik community. Following the murder and the arrest of Brackett and Dana a week later, the community held a somber remembrance walk to Split Rock, with over 100 people from Sipayik and surrounding communities joining together to show support for her family. Along with carrying signs reading, "Justice for Kim," many wore red in remembrance of all the missing and murdered Indigenous women across the nation.