In the summer of 2021, the life of Amanda Brown, a 29-year-old White woman, was cut short in the Standish, Maine, home she shared with her boyfriend and their two young children. According to Amanda’s mother, the relationship with her boyfriend, Brandon Libby, was physically and mentally abusive. Just before her death, Amanda had secured a protection from abuse order on behalf of her children, which prevented Libby from having contact with them.
On June 16, 2021, deputies from the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office responded to the couple’s residence on Dow Road for an assault investigation. Inside, they discovered Amanda’s body. An autopsy later confirmed she had died from a gunshot wound to the stomach, and her death was officially ruled a homicide.
The investigation quickly led police to Brandon Libby, then 34 years old. He was found the same day at his ex-fiancée’s home in North Waterboro, about 14 miles away.
The Maine State Police Tactical Team was called to the scene, and after a standoff, they convinced Libby to come outside. He was taken into custody and transported to a hospital for treatment after being bitten by a police K-9.
Libby was questioned but not immediately charged. Nearly five months later, on November 5, 2021, a Cumberland County grand jury indicted him on a charge of murder in Amanda’s death. He was arrested that day in the town of Hollis and subsequently pleaded not guilty.
Libby has maintained that the shooting was a tragic accident. He told police that Amanda had pointed the gun at him during an argument, and it discharged accidentally as he tried to push it away. Prosecutors planned to challenge this account at trial with a reconstruction of the shooting. In a pretrial hearing, a Maine State Police sergeant testified that markings on Amanda’s clothing indicated the gun’s muzzle was pressed against her shirt when it fired. The expert also stated that the bullet’s trajectory made Libby’s version of events "difficult."
After rejecting a plea offer from the state in June 2024, Brandon Libby remained at the Cumberland County Jail. As of November 2024, he was awaiting his trial, which was scheduled to begin in December 2024.
