Somebody Knows Who Murdered Ashley Ouellette
Ashley Ouellette
Who put 15-year-old Ashley Ouellette in the middle of Pine Point Road?
Ashley Erin Ouellette was “Precocious. A typical rebellious teen, but nothing over the top”, according to her uncle, Denis. It was 1999, and she wore hoop earring, lip gloss and carefully coiffed bangs which made her seem older than she was. But she was so young, and her small child-like hands and lingering baby fat betrayed her true age—just 15 yrs old.
Friends remembered Ashley always smiling, and knew that she loved to dance. And that her bangs had to be perfect. She made sure of that no matter what. She always looked well put together... well dressed... and boys took an interest in her.
When Ashley was in grade school, she was an A student, but her mother, Lise Ouellette said “The middle school years were difficult for her. She got a lot of attention from the kids in seventh and eighth grade. She seemed to thrive on it.” A young Ashley fell into a routine of late nights, cigarettes, booze, and boys. But she’d recently started showing progress and her grades and behavior were improving. So on Tuesday, February 9th, 1999, when Ashley Ouellette asked her mother if she could spend the night at her friend Alia’s house, Lise said yes.
What Lise didn’t know, was that Alia’s parents weren’t home and the girls were planning a party. By midnight Ashley had made her way over to Stephen Sanborn’s house, the 18-year-old older brother of her classmate, Daniel Sanborn in hopes of hooking up. They’d dated in the past, and Ashley still had a crush on Steve.
What happened between 12:30 and 4:00 am?
Early Wednesday morning, around 4:00AM, Mike Lopes was sitting in the car with his mother, who was driving by the light of her headlights along Pine Point Road in Scarborough, about 15 minutes north of Thornton Academy and the downtown of Saco, Maine, when they came across a startling discovery.
“We turned around and there was this girl lying face down in the road. She was blue, and she had blood around her mouth. My initial thought was somebody had been hit by a car. But she was just placed so perfectly. Her hands were right by her side, legs straight, toes pointing down.”
That girl was 15-year-old Ashley Ouellette. And her body was still warm in the cold February air.
How did Ashley Ouellette get from the safety of a friends house, to lying dead in the middle of the road, 8 miles away? What happened between the hours of 12:30 and 4:00 am? Who would do take the life of this young girl and leave her like that?
These are the questions that Maine State Police have been trying to answer–the release date of this episode marking another year Ashley’s family has gone without answers. 22 years is too long to wait for justice.
Press play now to hear the story of the unsolved murder of Ashley Ouellette on Murder, She Told wherever you get your favorite podcasts.
Special thanks to Ashley’s Uncle Denis and her childhood friend “Jesse” for sharing their personal stories with me for this episode.
If you’re holding onto any information or think you might know something about the murder of Ashley Erin Ouellette, I urge you to submit a tip to the Maine State cold case unit.
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Ashley Erin Ouellette
1983-1999
Sources For This Episode
Submit a tip to the Maine State Cold Case Unit
Associated Press via Bangor Daily News
Death of Saco teen ruled homicide, February 11th, 1999
Saco girl’s death ruled homicide, February 12th, 1999
Police investigate home in slaying of Saco student, February 13th, 1999
Progress seen in slaying investigation, February 15th, 1999
Saco teen strangled, police affidavit reveals, February 19th, 1999
Aunt, friend to raise more money in reward, April 16th, 1999
Police confident year-old killing solvable, February 9th, 2000
Couple deny responsibility in 1999 death, March 15th, 2001
Wrongful death suit put on hold, April 12th, 2001
Saco family carries on hunt for girl’s killer, May 31st, 2001
Wrongful death suit can proceed, judge says, July 13th, 2001
Judge dismisses parents’ wrongful death suit, February 23rd, 2002
Bangor Daily News by David Sharp
Saco Parents offer reward for clues leading to killer, March 19th, 1999
Additional Resources
Media and Credits
Photos of Ashley from the Remembering Ashley E. Ouellette Facebook Page
Research, writing, audio, and editing by Kristen Seavey
Murder, She Told is created and produced by Kristen Seavey
This episode was also co-produced by AKA Studio Productions
Writing support by Byron Willis
Editing support by Jaqueline Pena