PORTSMOUTH - A Portsmouth man was arrested on Thursday in the 1993 murder of a 73-year-old Kittery, Maine woman.
On Thursday members of Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit- South and the Portsmouth Police Department arrested 59-year-old Daniel Jolly of Portsmouth.
He is accused of killing 73-year-old Maxine Bitomski of Kittery.
Jolly was transported to the Rockingham County jail where he will remain pending extradition proceedings.
According to police records, on Jan. 16, 1993, at approximately 3:24 pm, officers from the Kittery Police Department responded to 3 Colonial Road in Kittery after Bitomski was found deceased inside her home by family members.
The Kittery Police Department immediately began investigating the circumstances surrounding her death and notified the Maine State Police shortly thereafter. Detectives from both agencies continued working the case over the next three decades.
On Jan. 17, 1993, an autopsy was conducted by the Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta. The cause of death is not being released at this time pending the unsealing of court documents, noted a release from the Maine Dept. of Safety on Thursday. The manner of death was determined to be homicide.
Investigators determined Jolly knew Bitomski through his employment with Medical Market, a medical supply company that was based in Portsmouth that provided oxygen equipment and services to Bitomski prior to her death.
Beginning in 2021, the investigation was re-examined by detectives assigned to Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit-South. Investigators continued pursuing leads, reviewing evidence, and utilizing advances in DNA testing that ultimately led to Jolly’s arrest.
“This arrest reflects the determination and commitment of investigators who never stopped working this case,” said Lt. Tom Pickering who oversees Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit-Unsolved. “The work completed by current and retired Maine State Police Detectives, members of the Maine State Police Crime Laboratory and the Kittery Police Department over the past 33 years was instrumental in bringing this case to this point.”
Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit-South was assisted by Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit-Unsolved, Maine State Police Crime Laboratory, Kittery Police Department, New Hampshire State Police Major Crimes Unit, and the Portsmouth Police Department.
If anyone has information related to the death of Bitomski, please contact Major Crimes Unit Sgt. Justin Huntley at (207) 624.7076 (option 9)
The investigation remains ongoing.
A New Hampshire Press Association member