State police charged a Hartford man with murder Thursday night after his longtime girlfriend was found unresponsive by deputies earlier that morning, state Public Safety spokesperson Steve McCausland said.
The homicide happened inside the couple's home, state police said.
Rondon Athayde, 46, was arrested at about 6 p.m. and charged with 41-year-old Ana Corderio's murder. He was taken to Oxford County Jail and was expected to make his first court appearance Friday.
The couple's two young children were placed in the custody of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, McCausland said.
An autopsy conducted Thursday determined the death to be homicidal, McCausland said. State police did not plan to release a cause of death.
Officials were investigating the circumstances surrounding the Corderio's death for most of Thursday. By Friday morning, Athayde had been formally charged with intentionally and knowingly causing the death of Cordeiro.
McCausland said Corderio's death on Bear Mountain Road in Hartford was reported just after midnight Thursday morning.
According to police, Cordeiro lived in the home with Athayde and their two children, ages 3 and 4. Police said Athayde called 911 and the Oxford County Sheriff's Office responded. When authorities got to the home, Corderio was unresponsive. They tried to revive Corderio but were unable to.
Athayde was questioned by police and had reportedly been cooperating with the investigation.
Police said Corderio and Athayde moved to Maine from Miami, Florida, about two years ago and originally lived in Brazil.
Corderio worked at Lowe's in Auburn.
Athayde was questioned for several hours.
"At this point, it's a death investigation the cause of death of will be released at a later time," Lt. Lundquist of the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit told reporters earlier in the day prior to Athayde's arrest.