ALFRED — The man who confessed to killing Frances Moulton, the Sanford woman whose remains were found in a Lebanon well in June 2009, lied to police to protect someone else.
Prosecutors won’t discuss the continuing investigation into Moulton’s death, but on Wednesday, Robert Copley, 24, of Hiram, originally charged with murder, pleaded guilty to felony hindering apprehension or prosecution. He was sentenced by York County Superior Court Justice Paul Fritzsche to 10 years in prison with all but three years suspended, and three years probation. Copley has been in jail since his arrest in December 2009, following the murder indictment, and will be credited with time served. The murder charge was dismissed.
Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese said Copley was present when Moulton was shot in the head with a crossbow in 2006.
“He was given promises and tried to protect the identity of the killer of Frances Moulton,” said Marchese outside York County Superior Court following the hearing. “I am confident Robert Copley did not murder Frances Moulton.”
“The personal relationship between those involved is very strong and a degree of influence was exercised,” said Copley’s attorney, Sarah Churchill, who went on to say she believed Copley had a “lack of understanding of the consequences of a confession.”
Churchill said there was reason to doubt her client’s guilt from the beginning and pointed out that sometimes, charges are brought before an investigation is complete.
“He has revealed the whole story to law enforcement,” said Churchill.
Copley had once lived on Creamery Hill Road where Maine State Police discovered Moulton’s remains. He was among a handful of people at the scene in June 2009 as police searched the property and made the grim discovery.
Marchese said Copley had confessed to murder, but as the investigation into Moulton’s death continued, Copley admitted in May 2010 he wasn’t the killer.
“You never dismiss a murder charge lightly,” said Marchese, and so when Copley said he wasn’t the killer, investigators continued to probe and determined that his confession was indeed false. But that original confession delayed the investigation, which is why he was charged with hindering apprehension, she said.
Moulton had been missing since late June 2006, when she visited family members in Sanford who said they watched her ride away on the back of a motorcycle. They were to never see her alive again.
The remains of the 26-year-old woman were found in a 30-foot deep well behind a mobile home at 76 Creamery Hill Road in Lebanon two years later, in June 2009.
Sanford Police, who issued a bulletin looking for information in 2007, said Moulton had a habit of disappearing for months at a time, but the last disappearance was lengthier than previous occasions.
— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 or twells@journaltribune.com.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
