Jody Buzzell

FRYEBURG — A local woman, described by friends as having a “beautiful personality,” was shot and killed Monday by her husband.

State Police investigated the shooting deaths of Jody Buzzell, 52, and Mark Buzzell, also 52, as a domestic violence murder-suicide.

The bodies were discovered separately, in two buildings, early Tuesday morning by the State Police tactical team along the West Fryeburg Road in Fryeburg, which is also Route 113.

Police believe Jody Buzzell was shot by her husband inside their home sometime Monday afternoon. Fryeburg Police were called to the home by relatives. Also responding were members of the State Police tactical team, negotiators and detectives.

After hours in the subfreezing temperatures, the tactical team entered the house early Tuesday morning and found Jody Buzzell’s body in a first floor room about 1 a.m.

About four hours later, Mark Buzzell was found in a vacant residence next door, owned by a family member. Detectives say Mark Buzzell left a note and also told family members he had killed his wife.

The bodies were removed to a local funeral home and were to be transported to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Augusta on Wednesday.

The property is a few hundred feet from the New Hampshire state line, and N.H. State Police assisted in searching for Mark Buzzell during the night. Route 113 was closed for about 12 hours until the body of the husband was discovered about 5 a.m.

According to her Facebook page, Jody Buzzell worked at Revive Spa Therapy as a holistic spa therapist. The spa is located at the Eagle Mountain House in Jackson, N.H.

The death is the first homicide in Maine this year.

Domestic Violence Resource Centers collaborate in order to provide the best access for services for victims of domestic violence crimes –and in Fryeburg, those agencies are Safe Voices based in Auburn and Family Crisis Services in Bridgton and Portland.

Lois Galgay-Reckitt, executive director of Family Crisis Services, commented Tuesday, “We are often constrained by confidentiality and cannot discuss either specific circumstances or even whether we have worked with particular victims or survivors. However, I can tell you some of the most common excuses and fallacies that often play into similar cases. “

She added, “Substance abuse is often involved – and often put forward as an excuse for horrific abuse, including murder – but there is in our words ‘No Excuse for Domestic Abuse.’ We watch jealousy being interpreted, even by teenagers, as a sign of love. We see it as a sign of pathology and danger.”

As this case unfolds under the scrutiny of the Fryeburg Police Department and the Maine State Police as well as the state’s Homicide Review Panel, “we are certain that these and/or other contributing factors may surface. Maine has made great strides by developing high-risk response teams, passing strangulation laws as well as enhancing police interventions and collaboration. But we must turn cases like this one into the next steps forward. All of us in Maine must work to ensure that Jody Buzzell did not die in vain,” Galgay-Reckitt added.

Anyone in need of help can contact:

Family Crisis Services, Cumberland County

1-800-537-6066

Safe Voices, Androscoggin, Franklin & Oxford Counties

1-800-559-2927

Statewide Hotline

1-866-834-4357