PORTLAND, Maine — A former Houlton man serving a 55-year sentence for the October 1992 murder of Betty Curliss died Wednesday at Maine Medical Center.
Paul Henry Gray, 68, was being treated for an undisclosed ailment. He was pronounced dead at 5:30 a.m., according to Maine Department of Corrections spokesperson Scott Fish. Mark Belserene of the state’s Medical Examiner’s Office said Monday that Gray died “a natural death.”
Gray was convicted on Oct. 19, 1993 of killing Curliss in a domestic violence case, according to Houlton Pioneer Times’ archives. Gray had just moved back in with Curliss at their Kendall Street apartment a few weeks prior to her death. Curliss was 42 at the time she died.
The autopsy showed Curliss died from strangulation and there were numerous cuts and bruises to her body. She also had broken ribs. Investigators discovered she had been strangled with an electrical cord.
Gray told police the two had argued over money on the night of her death. Gray had no regular employment at that time. During the argument, Gray told Detective Cpl. Arnold Gahagan of the Maine State Police that he tore off the nightshirt Curliss was wearing, pushed her down on the bed and put his hands on her shoulders. He did not recall strangling her. He then left the apartment, went to a store, returned and watched television. In the morning he awoke and found Curliss dead.
A jury returned a guilty verdict in September, 1993, and Gray had been in prison for the past 22 years.
