NEW GLOUCESTER – State police have filed murder charges against a Massachusetts man they say fatally shot the mother of his four children as well as a friend on Monday evening in New Gloucester.

According to Maine Public Safety Department spokesman Steve McCausland, the investigation continues into what drove 29-year-old Joel Hayden, of New Bedford, Mass., to shoot his 27-year-old wife, Renee Sandora, and friend Trevor Mills, 28, also of New Bedford.

McCausland said the shooting took place at Sandora’s mobile home on Bennett Road in New Gloucester. None of the four children were injured.

While Mills and Hayden are listed as Massachusetts residents, the two men often stayed at Sandora’s house, McCausland said. It is unclear how long the two men had been at the home or whether Hayden and Sandora were married. McCausland said there was a history of domestic violence between the couple and that the two victims, Mills and Sandora, were friends.

Once the shooting took place at 6:30 p.m., Hayden fled in a Cadillac owned by Sandora’s mother. He was seen by state police on the Maine Turnpike in Scarborough. Police attempted to stop him on the turnpike in Saco but Hayden exited the highway and proceeded to lead police on a high-speed chase along Route 5. Hayden crashed the vehicle in Lyman and sustained a back injury, for which he was treated at Maine Medical Center, McCausland said. Hayden was released into police custody Wednesday at 12:30 p.m., was arraigned at Cumberland County Superior Court later Wednesday afternoon, and transported to Cumberland County Jail.

The two victims were transported to Central Maine Medical Center Monday night and listed in grave condition. Sandora died during the day Tuesday and Mills died Tuesday night. The state medical examiner was scheduled to perform autopsies Thursday.

Police are still piecing together why the shootings took place. According to McCausland, Sandora was a volunteer with the regional transportation program and Hayden is unemployed. No occupation was immediately determined for Mills.

Hayden and Sandora’s four children are in the care of Sandora’s parents. The Cadillac used by Hayden to flee the scene was towed to a state police garage and was scheduled for examination sometime this week. A team of detectives and evidence technicians have also searched the New Gloucester home for evidence in connection with the shooting.

Joel Hayden