A Winthrop couple killed in late October died of stab wounds, according to a newly released court document that describes a chilling scene found by police inside the home of Alice and Antonio Balcer.
Their son, Andrew Balcer, 18, is charged with killing them. A police affidavit released Thursday says Andrew Balcer called 911 early on Halloween morning and said he had killed both parents and a family dog.
READ THE AFFIDAVIT
The documents also say police took Andrew into custody without incident and that the teenager asked them to check on his older brother, Christopher Balcer, who was at home at the time of the killings.
When he first called 911 about 1:42 a.m., Andrew Balcer told a dispatcher that he had stabbed his parents and they were “beyond help and definitely dead,” according to the affidavit filed Nov. 1 by Maine State Police Detective Abbe Chabot.
Alice Balcer was found in her bedroom, face down with a stab wound in her back. Antonio Balcer, who was found in the kitchen, had 13 stab wounds to his chest and torso, according to the two-page document.
The document was not released previously because Andrew Balcer was 17 at the time he was arrested. A judge kept them sealed because he was a minor.
The state has requested a hearing to determine whether Balcer can be tried as an adult. On Thursday, defense attorney Walter McKee said Balcer is undergoing a psychological evaluation that might not be completed until March.
On the morning of Balcer’s arrest, police found a combat-style knife stuck into the floor near his father’s body and a handgun on the kitchen counter that appeared to have red-brown stains on it, according to the affidavit unsealed this week.
The document did not indicate whether those weapons were relevant to the killings.
When police arrived at the home that morning, Balcer was wearing a white T-shirt, gray sweatpants and gray Sketchers loafers, and the clothes appeared to have wet red-brown stains on them, according to the affidavit.
“Andrew Balcer exited the residence and was taken into police custody without incident,” Chabot wrote. “While lying on the ground, Andrew requested that they (the police) make sure his brother is OK. Andrew said ‘his brother is going to need counseling after this.’ ”
At one point, Winthrop Police Chief Ryan Frost knelt down and asked Balcer if he was injured.
“No,” the teenager said, according to the court document. “The blood was from my parents.”
The affidavit also quotes a Monmouth police officer who reportedly overheard Balcer tell police that he chose to spare his brother Christopher’s life.
According to Officer Dana Wessling, “(Balcer) stated something like ‘I let him (Christopher) go or live.’ ”
Andrew Balcer was a senior at Winthrop High School at the time. He is being held at the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland. In the days after his arrest, a school official described him as a gifted student. Friends, a family member and a co-worker described the Balcers as a close-knit family and said they were shocked by the killings.
The next court date for Balcer is a status conference scheduled for early February, mainly to update both sides on the case.
In a November court proceeding at the Capital Judicial Center, a judge informed Balcer that he could admit or deny the murder charges against him, or enter “no answer.” Through McKee, Balcer entered “no answer” to the two charges of intentional or knowing murder listed on the juvenile petition. The judge said he would enter denials on Balcer’s behalf. Responses to juvenile charges are different from those in the adult criminal justice system.
At that proceeding, the judge also told Balcer that if the state succeeds in having him prosecuted as an adult, he faces 25 years to life in prison on each count. Prosecutors did not have anything to add about the case Thursday, according to a spokesman for the Maine Attorney General’s Office.
Antonio Balcer retired in 2012 as a chief warrant officer in the Coast Guard. Alice Balcer also served in the Coast Guard, where they met 25 years ago, according to their obituaries.
Antonio Balcer was active in local motorcycle groups and was known locally as “the Rev” for serving as chaplain and officiating at weddings. Alice Balcer worked at Winthrop Veterinary Hospital, and before that at the Kennebec Valley Humane Society shelter in Augusta. She was an outdoors enthusiast.
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