SKOWHEGAN — A Somerset County grand jury has indicted the 38-year-old Norridgewock man accused of a murder and assault in February in Norridgewock.
Kendall Purnell was indicted earlier this month on one count of intentional or knowing or depraved indifference murder and one count of elevated aggravated assault, according to court records on file in Skowhegan.
The indictment alleges that Purnell caused the death of Harold Burgess, 71. It also alleges he caused serious injury to Shawn Haggan, 45, using a two-by-four.
Both offenses are alleged to have occurred on Feb. 7.
Purnell was set to be arraigned on the charges Monday morning in Skowhegan, but the arraignment was postponed. He has yet to enter a plea.
An indictment is not a determination of guilt but indicates enough evidence exists for a case to move forward to trial.
The court case file, as of Monday, contained no information about why the arraignment was postponed.
A new date for his arraignment had not been scheduled as of Monday morning, a court clerk said.
Reached via telephone, one of Purnell’s court-appointed attorneys, Jeremy Pratt, of the Camden law firm Pratt & Simmons, declined to discuss the case.
Pratt also said he could not speak to why the arraignment was continued, as he was on vacation last week when a hearing related to the case took place and was unsure what, if any, court documents were placed under seal.
Purnell’s other attorney, Caitlyn Smith of the Bangor law firm Rudman Winchell, did not respond to a voicemail or email Monday morning.
Attorneys had a conference last week regarding a competency evaluation, but no hearing on that matter was scheduled, a spokesperson for the Office of the Maine Attorney General, Danna Hayes, wrote in an email Monday.
At Pratt’s request, Superior Court Chief Justice Robert E. Mullen ordered in March that Purnell undergo a mental competency evaluation.
The recent indictment reveals little new information about the alleged murder and assault.
A probable cause affidavit, which police filed to support Purnell’s arrest, remained under seal as of Monday. Prosecutors in the Office of the Maine Attorney General had requested it be impounded the same day Purnell made his first court appearance, Feb. 10, according to court records.
Mullen ordered it to remain under seal until Purnell is arraigned, court records show.
The Maine State Police arrested Purnell Feb. 8 on the murder charge, the agency said in a previous statement issued through a spokesperson. Investigators were seen working that day near 40 Walnut Drive in Norridgewock.
Late at night Feb. 7, Somerset County sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call at a residence on Walnut Drive, state police said. Deputies found one man dead and another man with serious head injuries.
Police in the area were advised to be on the lookout for Purnell, who was believed to be driving the homeowner’s vehicle, state police said. The statement did not identify the homeowner or say if the homeowner was the man who died or man who was seriously injured.
At about 1 a.m. Feb. 8, Waterville police officers stopped the vehicle at the Irving gas station and convenience store on Kennedy Memorial Drive in Waterville and identified Purnell, according to state police.
Detectives questioned Purnell and then arrested him, state police said.
Police never released the names of the man who died or the injured man, though their names are listed in court records, including the recent indictment.
Purnell is being held at the Somerset County Jail without bail, according to court and jail records.
Court records show that if the case goes to trial, it would be scheduled for April 2026, though that is subject to change.
