A fatal shooting on the evening of August 2, 2024, at a residence on White Oak Hill Road in Poland, Maine, claimed the life of 51-year-old Richard Rick E. Tayman Jr. of Oxford. The Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit South and the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office responded; an autopsy by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta confirmed a single gunshot wound as the cause of death and the death has been ruled a homicide. Authorities say the person believed to be responsible is cooperating with the investigation, but no arrests or charges have been announced.

Tayman, born November 4, 1972, in Portland, Maine, lived much of his life on Hogan Pond in Oxford and also lived in Auburn with his partner Melissa. He is remembered by family and community as kind and generous, a painter, carpenter, and electrician who loved the outdoors and often helped others. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to come forward.