Poisoned trees gave a wealthy couple a killer view — and united residents in outrage

JUNE 19, 2024 5:43 AM ET
By The Associated Press



This image provided by Vinal Applebee shows the home of Lisa Gorman in the foreground, the poisoned oak trees behind her home, and the home of the alleged perpetrators behind the dead trees, in Camden, Maine.
Courtesy Vinal Applebee/AP

CAMDEN, Maine — Suspicious deaths in an idyllic seaside community and detective work that points to poison sound like themes from a classic murder mystery. But the victims in this Maine whodunit were trees that stood in the way of a wealthy family's oceanfront view, allegedly felled by well-heeled killers who, while ostracized and publicly shamed, remain free.

Wealth and hubris fuel the tale of a politically connected Missouri couple who allegedly poisoned their neighbor's trees to secure their million-dollar view of Camden Harbor. The incident that was unearthed by the victim herself — the philanthropic wife of L.L. Bean's late president — has united local residents in outrage.

To make matters worse, the herbicide used to poison the trees leached into a neighboring park and the town's only public seaside beach. The state attorney general is now investigating.

"Anybody dumb enough to poison trees right next to the ocean should be prosecuted, as far as I'm concerned," said Paul Hodgson, echoing the view of many exasperated residents in Camden, a community of 5,000 nestled at the foot of mountains that sweep upward from the Atlantic Ocean and overlook a harbor filled with lobster boats, yachts and schooners.

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