AUGUSTA — A New York man was arrested Tuesday and charged with two counts of murder in the drug-related shooting deaths of an Augusta couple on Christmas Day, Maine State Police said.

David W. Marble Jr., 29, of Rochester, New York, was arrested near Memorial Circle in Augusta after city police stopped a car in which he was a passenger, officials said. He is accused of killing Eric Williams, 35, and Bonnie Royer, 26, who were found dead when police responded to a 911 call that one of them made at 3:30 a.m. Friday.

David Marble

The couple were in an SUV on Sanford Road in Manchester, not far from where they lived on Easy Street in north Augusta. Detectives said the shootings were drug-related.

Marble recently lived in an apartment at 28 Sewall St, police said. He was charged Tuesday afternoon after being questioned at state police headquarters in Augusta.

The arrest came after a joint investigation conducted by state police, the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.

Marble will make his first court appearance at noon today at the Capital Judicial Center in Augusta.

Williams and Royer had recently started dating, said Royer’s father, Paul Mansir Jr. of Whitefield. A longtime neighbor of Williams said that the relationship was relatively new, and Williams previously had been in a long-term relationship with a different woman.

Both the Chevrolet Trailblazer in which the couple were killed and a Buick Century were registered in the names of Williams and his former girlfriend.

Williams and Royer lived at 18 Easy St., in a home owned by Williams’ parents, Jeff and Susan Williams of Augusta and Winthrop. Reached by phone Tuesday, Susan Williams declined to comment.

Marble was arrested in June 2010 in Rochester and charged with beating and robbing a man there. According to records from New York state, he was sentenced to prison for third-degree robbery and was released on probation in May 2011.

Marble’s nickname on his Facebook page is “Dee Money.” A post from Tuesday, apparently by Marble, says, “This was a good Christmas after all everybody got to present this year and I was not in locked up.” Another of his posts, from Monday, says, “Forgive me GOD FOR I HAVE SIN. Spiritus Sancti.”

Within minutes of Marble’s arrest, relatives of the dead couple began posting comments on his Facebook page.

Police initially asked for the public’s help in determining the couple’s whereabouts on Christmas Eve, and received a number of tips.

A memorial vigil is planned for the couple from 7-9 p.m. Friday outside their home. People are being asked to meet and park near Summerhaven and Sanford roads and walk to the house.

Funeral arrangements for Williams include visitation from 10-11 a.m. Saturday at the Plummer Funeral Home on Pleasant Street in Augusta, with a service to follow there at 11 a.m.

Funeral arrangements aren’t set for Royer, said Vicky Beloin, a spokeswoman for the Royer family. She said Tuesday that arrangements will be made in the next day or two.

Beloin, the girlfriend of Royer’s father, set up a gofundme website to raise money for Royer’s funeral expenses. By Tuesday, it had reached $1,300. The goal is $5,000.

Beloin previously had issued a statement on behalf of Royer’s family, saying, “We are beside ourselves during this difficult time. You can never prepare for the death of your child. Bonnie is an amazing soul with such a big heart.”

Beloin wouldn’t say anything further Tuesday except that Mansir was “doing as good as any parent can after losing a child.”

Earlier this week, Mansir said he last spoke with his daughter on the night of Dec. 21, telling her that he loved her before hanging up.

He also said that Royer’s daughter, McKenzie, 6, is living with her father in Cumberland County.