Summary
In October 2024, officers from the Bath Police Department in Maine responded to reports of a shooting at a residence. When they arrived at the home, they found the bodies of Lisa Bailey and her daughter Jennifer, both killed by their respective husband and father Michael Bailey who also killed himself.
The murders generated widespread news coverage. Local reporting revealed that officers had been to the home at least twice in the days leading up to the murders. On Sept. 24, officers responded to calls reportedly made because of domestic violence, possibly involving an assault with a knife. No arrests were made. According to a witness, officers carried a couple of rifles from the home but said they soon carried them back inside the residence.
On Oct. 2, both Lisa and Jennifer went to Bath Police Department to fill out statements. Four days later, both of them had been murdered.
The newsrooms obtained reports from the police visits to the Bailey residence prior to the murders, but the pages are so heavily redacted it’s impossible to know what happened or how the police responded.
The April 10, 2026 legal complaint filed in Sagadahoc County Superior Court claims that the redactions are a violation of Maine’s Freedom of Access Act. Bath Police Department declined to lift the redactions citing the privacy of the family, but under Maine law, rights to privacy are “purely personal,” meaning that they are extinguished upon death and cannot be asserted by a decedent’s relatives or other third parties.
In a Sept. 8 decision, Maine Superior Court Justice Daniel Billings ordered all the requested documents to be released subject to only minimal redactions.
The court found that the victims had little to no privacy interests to protect. Surviving family members also had little no privacy interests that would justify withholding or redacting the requested records. While some redaction may be allowed to protect the privacy of witnesses, the public’s interest in learning about police interaction with the Baileys “weighs heavily against the risk of violating personal privacy interests,” Justice Billings wrote.
Filings and Decision
Media Coverage
- WMTW, The Times Record File Lawsuit Against Bath Police Department (video)
- Times Record Sues Bath Police for 2024 Double-Slaying Records
- Judge Orders Bath Police to Release Minimally Redacted Records to WMTW, The Times Record (video)
- Maine Judge Orders Bath Police to Release Records in 2024 Double Homicide
Testimonials
“As journalists, we aim to pursue every avenue we can to view public records that are being unjustly redacted or withheld,” said Norah Hogan, WMTW chief investigative reporter. “Thanks to NEFAC, we are able to fully pursue the release of records that will provide greater accountability.”
“The public has a right to know how police responded to domestic calls at the Bailey home leading up to the murders,” said Nick McCrea, editor of The Times Record. “We thank NEFAC for supporting this effort to ensure accountability and shed light on what’s been hidden.”