Shaun Farrar

Mar 12, 2025

BAR HARBOR—In a press release today, the Maine Department of Public Safety has stated that had William Neville Cumming, Jr., 56, not taken his own life, “there was probable cause to arrest and charge William Neville Cumming, Jr. with the intentional or knowing murders of his mother and sister.”

Cumming had been found deceased at his father’s Bar Harbor residence shortly after the murders of his family members.

According to the press release, “on Wednesday, December 27, 2023, at approximately 10:45 a.m., the Franklin County Dispatch Center received a 911 call reporting the discovery of two deceased individuals at the Pawsitive Dog Kennel, located at 274 Red Schoolhouse Road in Farmington. The victims were later identified as 76-year-old Jean Robinson, of Farmington, and her daughter, 53-year-old Allison ‘Joy’ Cumming, also of Farmington.”

Jean Robinson was the mother of Cumming Jr. and Joy Cumming was sister.

“Farmington Police Officers, Franklin County Sheriff’s deputies, and detectives from the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit South responded to the scene, working throughout the evening to collect evidence and conduct interviews,” read the original release from 2023.

Shortly after the women’s bodies were discovered, they were taken to the Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta. Autopsies showed that they had died because of sharp force injuries.

“Their deaths were ruled homicides,” the release read.

Four days later, on Sunday, December 31, 2023, William Cumming, Sr., called 911 and reported that his son, Cumming, Jr., was deceased at his residence in Bar Harbor.

The Office of Chief Medical Examiner ruled Cumming Jr.’s death a suicide. The investigation into the murders of Joy Cumming and Jean Robinson, at the time of Cumming Jr.’s death, was ongoing and suggested that he was responsible for both of the homicides.

According to today’s press release, once the investigation was concluded, “including forensic testing conducted by the Maine State Crime Laboratory, it was determined that there was probable cause to arrest and charge William Cumming Jr. with the intentional or knowing murders of his mother and sister, had he not taken his own life.”

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