NORTH YARMOUTH — A 70-year-old man has been indicted for murder in connection with the Oct. 6 shooting death at a North Yarmouth bee farm.

Timothy Feeley of the Maine attorney general’s office confirmed the indictment of Merrill “Mike” Kimball of Yarmouth

The shooting of Leon Kelley of Georgetown occurred at about 3:15 p.m., at Brown’s Bee Farm on Greeley Road, owned by 93-year-old Stan Brown.

Kelley was Brown’s son-in-law, and Kimball is the husband of Brown’s business partner, Karen Thurlow-Kimball.

Kelley died of multiple gunshot wounds to the torso, Feeley confirmed at the time.

Brown, known across state and national beekeeping communities for his longevity, told the Bangor Daily News in the days following the incident that he believes his son-in-law was fatally shot trying to protect his landmark bee supply shop from his business partner’s husband.

He said he had told Kelley to keep Kimball from entering his bee supply store, which was closed at the time. Brown said he’d told Kimball several times in recent years to stay away from his shop, but he had gone into the store when it was closed “to take tools, bee supplies or anything else he could sell.” He described his business partner’s husband, a lobsterman, as “troubled.”

Brown said at the time that he heard gunshots that Sunday afternoon, and that Kelley had “three bullet holes in him.”

“My daughter came in and said, ‘There’s been an accident up at the shop.’ So I got up and went up to the shop,” he said. “I saw Karen up there and she said, ‘My husband shot Leon, and they’re taking him away in an ambulance.’”

Brown said the family had no comment on the indictment.

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