The Murder of Ashley Ouellette (Maine)

Ashley Erin Ouellette was just 15-years old when her body was found placed in the middle of Pine Point Road in Scarborough, Maine just before dawn on February 10, 1999. The investigation led police to the place Ashley was last known to be alive, but it has not been able to move past that location in more than 25 years.

Ashley Ouellette’s sister, Lindsey Ouellette, and her mother, Lise Ouellette, are on Dark Downeast to share her story.

Mentioned in this episode: 

The Disappearance of Angel ‘Tony’ Torres, Part 1 (Maine) 
The Disappearance of Angel ‘Tony’ Torres, Part 2 (Maine)

Discovery

It was just before 4 a.m. on Wednesday, February 10, 1999 and Michael Lopes was sitting passenger side in his mother’s vehicle on his way home from work. It was quiet in the cab as they approached the marshlands that flank Pine Point Road in Scarborough, Maine. 

According to reporting by David Connerty-Marin and Sarah Ragland for the Portland Press Herald, it was almost pitch black as the mother and son rounded a slight curve into the Scarborough Marsh Audubon area, but their headlights illuminated something on the road ahead not a moment too soon. Michael’s mother swerved fast to avoid whatever it was…Michael did a double-take realizing the shape was distinctly human. He told his mother to turn around.(1)

Michael’s eyes hadn’t deceived him. There was a person laying there in the middle of Pine Point Road, almost perfectly lined up with the center lines painted on the pavement. As Michael turned the body over, it didn’t register at first if he was looking at a man or woman, boy or girl. He only noticed that the person’s skin was blue and there was no pulse, but their body was still warm.(1)(19a)

Michael was trained in CPR so in the yellow beam from their headlights, Michael began chest compressions as his mother called 9-1-1 from her cell.(1)(19a)

The body, in fact, was that of a young girl. Michael thought at first she had been hit by a car, but as he told David Hench and Kelley Bouchard for the Portland Press Herald, he didn’t see any bruises or scrapes, just a little bit of dried blood near her nose and mouth. Her hair was combed, her hands were by her side, and her legs were out straight almost as if she’d been placed right there at that spot for him or some other unsuspecting driver to find.(1)(19a)

When first responders arrived and continued attempts at life saving efforts, they realized it was too late. No amount of CPR would have saved her. The unidentified victim was transported to the hospital and pronounced dead.(19a)

The girl had no identification on her when she was found. Police called local schools to see if any students matching her description had been marked absent, they checked recent missing persons reports, and they talked to people in the Pine Point neighborhood trying to track down anyone who might be able to identify her. 

Early that afternoon, a description of the girl was broadcast on local news. She was wearing two light-weight shirts, black leggings, and platform shoes. They showed photos of the girl’s tattoos.(19a) 

Lindsey Ouellette was 12-years old at the time and playing hooky from school that day when she saw the news broadcast.

“I said I didn’t want to go to school and I pretended to not feel good,” Lindsey began, “I convinced my mom to let me stay home from school that day. And I was flipping through the channels, sitting on the couch watching TV and some news channel was posting pictures of tattoos of a body they found. And then literally like five minutes later, one of her friends starts calling, freaking out. Her friend was like, those are your sister’s tattoos and nobody can talk to her. Where is she?”

Lindsey didn’t know yet that her older sister had tattoos she’d kept hidden from her family. Lindsey didn’t know that her parents had already received an urgent message on their beeper and they were speeding to the Scarborough Police Department, about to receive news that no parent should ever have to hear.

Police showed Bob and Lise Ouellette a photo of the girl found in the road that morning. The mother and father positively identified the girl as their oldest daughter, 15-year old Ashley Erin Ouellette. Her cause of death was manual strangulation. Ashley was murdered.(1)

About Ashley E. Ouellette

From the beginning, Ashley’s parents Lise and Bob have been the voices telling Ashley’s story and fighting for her case. After Bob’s passing in 2001, Lise continued to show up for her daughter’s case at every turn amidst her own grief and loss in hopes of someday learning the truth. Lise has also been a dedicated supporter of causes and initiatives to help other families in Maine who are navigating the challenges of their own unsolved cases.

I sat down with Lise and Ashley’s sister Lindsey on a fiercely cold but bright winter morning in York County, Maine at the brewery Lindsey opened last year. You might notice the sound of the equipment starting up or the hum of the HVAC system as we talk.

The love and warmth radiating from these two women was palpable. Lindsey has three children of her own now, and Lise cherishes her role as mother and grandmother. She will never forget the day she became a mother, the day Ashley was born.

“The first time I held her I just remember holding her and touching, holding her little hands and saying to myself, now I see when a parent says they would walk in front of a train for their child. I got it,” Lise continued,  “I said to myself, I wouldn’t want anybody to hurt her. She was just so precious.”

Lise and her husband Bob would do anything for their daughters. If Ashley called for an after school Oreo Blizzard from Dairy Queen? Lise would pick it up. Either daughter needed a ride to or from a friend’s house or the mall or anywhere at all? Bob and Lise chauffeured. They had rules, no doubt, and Lise described herself as being more strict than some of the other parents in Ashley’s friend group, but above all, Lise believed in letting her kids be just that: kids. 

“As a young child, I just loved watching them play, and I made sure, I used to tell them all the time, you’re going to be an adult for a long time. Go out and play. This is your time to be a child. I used to just sit there and watch them outside playing. They were close with their cousins. They were either at our house or we were at their house on weekends. It’s just, it was great. I mean, to me it was great,” Lise smiled at Lindsey across the table, “I hope you had a great childhood.”

Lindsey chimed in, “Yeah, it was great.”

Lindsey is almost four years younger than Ashley, and she said with a smile that in true big sister fashion, Ashley picked on her sometimes, but they were starting to enter a new stage of their sisterly relationship.

“There were fun times not long before she passed where she’d come home from her friend’s house and then she called me into her room to just come watch I Love Lucy and like, snuggle with her,” Lindsey went on, “But she was the typical big sister at school, wouldn’t let kids pick on me, you know, her and her friends would come over, and I was the little doll they’d play dress up with.”

Ashley was a good kid. Responsible, bright, meticulous. She loved a clean, organized space and having her things just so.

Lise told me about one phone call with Ashley in her elementary school years. She said, “She was in fifth grade, I remember she called me and said, mom, I want to do laundry, how do I do it? So I explained to her how to separate the whites from the colors, not put too much bleach, you know, and from that day on, she did the laundry. She wouldn’t let me touch her clothes.”

Lindsey echoed her mother’s assessment of Ashley’s tendencies, “Oh, she was a neat freak. She was. She had this carpet in her room and she’d move it a certain way that if you tried to walk in, it would leave footprints and she’d know you were in there, so you could not sneak in and like, borrow her clothes.”

Sisters will get it. The clothes-stealing-struggle is real. 

Lise shared this story that had us all chuckling, “I’ve had people tell me she, even when she was young, she was like an old soul, and she cared about people. Her friends, and she also cared about her friends’ parents, because I remember one parent telling me one time, she walked in the house after working, the house was all clean. And, this would be Ashley, she said, come on, we’re going to clean the house for your mother. We’re going to do the dishes, do this. She had them all working. She had all her friends working, cleaning the house. And she said, oh my gosh, I came home, they said, yeah, Ashley made us do it.”

That was Ashley’s truest form; helping and caring for those she loved. 

Ashley hit a rough patch in middle school and into her freshman year at Thornton Academy. She attracted the attention of older kids, which introduced her to older kid activities. She started staying out late, partying, drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes. She was defiant in the face of rules and boundaries her parents tried to enforce.(19a) Lise and Bob’s attempts to reason with her erupted into arguments. 

During her freshman year, Ashley left home and wouldn’t come back for over a week. Bob and Lise couldn’t find her. They heard she was staying at friends’ houses and wasn’t going to school regularly but no one would tell Lise where Ashley was staying. Lise told Ashley’s friends that if they didn’t want to tell her, to please tell the police where Ashley was so they could bring her home where she was safe and loved.(21) 

Police eventually helped locate Ashley at a friend’s house and brought her home. After seeking advice from a mental health care non-profit organization called Sweetser, Bob and Lise enrolled Ashley in a week-long inpatient counseling program.(19a) Lise told me that although it was difficult for her as a parent to place Ashley in the program, that week of counseling was transformative. They started to see glimpses of their warm, happy and caring daughter again. 

Back at school, Ashley enrolled in what was described as Thornton Academy’s “alternative program” for students who did not do well in mainstream classroom settings. Ashley was making great progress and seeing success. 

“I was so proud of her,” Lise said emphatically. “And I used to tell her that, you know…I’m not afraid to tell my children that, that I’m proud of them or I’m disappointed. And I never once ever dropped her off at school and not tell her I loved her and she always said I love you too, Mom.”

Ashley Ouellette’s story continues on Dark Downeast. Press play to hear the full episode wherever you get your podcasts.