FARMINGTON — Police have concluded their investigation into the December 2023 homicides of a mother and daughter at a local dog kennel, determining that the women’s son and brother was responsible for their deaths.
On Wednesday, December 27, 2023, at approximately 10:45 a.m., the Franklin County Dispatch Center received a 911 call reporting two deceased individuals at the Pawsitive Dog Kennel on Red Schoolhouse Road.
The victims were identified as 76-year-old Jean Robinson and her daughter, 53-year-old Allison “Joy” Cumming, both of Farmington.
Farmington Police, Franklin County Sheriff’s deputies, and Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit detectives responded to the scene to collect evidence and conduct interviews.
Autopsies performed on December 28 at the Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta determined both women died from sharp force injuries, with their deaths ruled homicides.
On Sunday, December 31, 2023, William Cumming Sr. called 911 to report his son, 56-year-old William Neville Cumming Jr., was deceased at his residence in Bar Harbor.
The Medical Examiner ruled Cumming Jr.’s death a suicide.
Investigators identified Cumming Jr., who was Robinson’s son and Joy Cumming’s brother, as the suspect in the double homicide.
Following forensic testing by the Maine State Crime Laboratory, authorities determined there was probable cause to charge Cumming Jr. with the intentional or knowing murders of his mother and sister, had he not taken his own life.
