Maine man now charged with attempted murder after election night attack

By Adam Bartow

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    RUMFORD, Maine (WMTW) — The Rumford man accused of crashing his pickup truck into his neighbor’s home on election night, setting the home on fire and then firing shots into the home is now charged with three counts of aggravated attempted murder and one count of arson.

The charges brought against Billy Morvent, 59, Thursday evening, are in addition to three counts of criminal threatening with a deadly weapon and aggravated criminal mischief.

Morvent was still in the hospital Friday after police say he tried to kill himself, but was arraigned via video conferencing Friday afternoon from his hospital bed.

A judge ordered him to undergo a psychological evaluation and set bail at $75,000 cash.

The judge also impounded the police affidavit and other court documents in the case.

A man who lived in the home that was destroyed spoke with Maine’s Total Coverage about his family’s traumatic experience.

Matt Thurston and his partner, Jade, own a farmhouse off Route 232 in Rumford Corner Village and run Jade’s Homegrown Farm Stand.

Thurston said they were near the barn at about 8 p.m. Tuesday when their neighbor, Morvent, drove his truck into their house and started a fire with what appeared to be flares. Then, they heard hundreds of gunshots.

Thurston said he, his partner and a cousin sheltered in a ditch for hours while police searched for Morvent, who lives nearby off Route 232.

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