UPPER LAKE Three suspects were arrested Tuesday for the murder of 39-year-old Nice resident Michael Eugene Fausnaugh, whose body was found in a dirt turnout on Highway 29 Thursday afternoon by a pair of construction workers on their way to a work site.
One of the suspects, Nice resident Shamus Maroney, 27, was already in custody after a March 23 arrest for a parole violation. A count of murder was added after Maroney was questioned regarding Fausnaugh”s death. He is being held on a no-bail parole violation at the Hill Road Jail in addition to a $500,000 bail amount set for the murder charge, according to a Lake County Sheriff”s Office press release.
The two other suspects are Jamie Martin, 20 of Lucerne and Terri Kenney, 48 of Nice, both female. They were booked on murder charges after questioning and are each being held on $500,000 bail.
According to the LCSO press release, witnesses reported seeing Fausnaugh with all three of the suspects at the Middle Creek Campground on Elk Mountain Road in Upper Lake on the evening of March 21. Witnesses further stated that Fausnaugh had what appeared to be significant head injuries, and described how Maroney, Kenney and Martin put Fausnaugh in their vehicle and left, reportedly to seek medical attention, according to the report.
Lt. Cecil Brown of the LCSO clarified late Wednesday that the witnesses believed Fausnaugh was still alive when they saw him with the three suspects on the night of March 21.
Two men reported pulling into a turnout Thursday afternoon to tighten down the load they were carrying and saw Fausnaugh”s body lying on the southbound shoulder of Highway 29. They reported the sighting at the nearby juvenile hall facility, and LCSO deputies found the body at milepost marker 515 north of Mockingbird Lane in Upper Lake at approximately 1:40 p.m. Thursday afternoon.
Evidence found at the campground corroborates the witnesses” accounts, said the report, and the three suspects” vehicle was impounded for forensic investigation.
Maroney, Kenney and Martin are tentatively scheduled for arraignment tomorrow.
The investigation into Fausnaugh”s death is ongoing. The LCSO press release says detectives are trying to identify other campers who were using the Middle Creek Campground on the night of March 21. Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact detective Brian Kenner at the LCSO Detective Bureau at 262-4200.
Fausnaugh”s sister Lori Hulbert set up a memorial with flower arrangements sitting on a mound of rocks for passers by to see on the shoulder of Highway 29 where her brother”s body was found.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
