PALMYRA, Maine – An eighth-grader led his mother and sisters from their home to safety before being shot to death, his aunt said. The mother's live-in boyfriend was charged with murder hours later.
An initial court appearance for Todd Curry, 39, was postponed after he was hospitalized.
Anthony Tucker, 13, was found outside the home Tuesday with gunshot wounds to the head after neighbors heard gunfire.
"He was the last one out, and he made sure everybody was out and safe before he shut the door," his aunt Cathy Tucker Elliott said.
School officials described Anthony as a quiet leader who was well-liked and protective of his peers.
"He just more or less tried to make sure everybody was safe," Elliott said.
State police declined to release other details about the crime.
Authorities said Curry and the boy's mother, 32-year-old April Cooley, recently had a baby girl. The boy and his 10-year-old sister were Cooley's children from an earlier relationship.
Curry was charged with domestic assault against Cooley last January but pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.
A year ago, neighbors sought a protection order against Curry, saying he had been shooting guns near their properties.
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