Portland Police Say They Have Solved a 2011 Cold Case Murder

Portland police have charged a suspect in the 10-year-old cold case murder of Allen MacLean.

The murder of the 41-year-old South Portland man has gone unsolved since 2011. MacLean was shot down on the street, in the area of Congress Street and Massachusetts Avenue in Portland on August 1st of that year. Police investigated but couldn't put together the details until now.

On August 5, 10 years after MacLean's murder, the Cumberland County Grand Jury issued an indictment against Abdi Awad, 36, charging him with murder. Portland Police went to the Maine State Prison in Warren, where Awad is currently in custody, and served him with an arrest warrant this week. Portland Police Chief Frank Clark said, in a media release, that he appreciated the hard work of everyone involved in the investigation.

I hope their perseverance, and this arrest, on the 10th anniversary of Allen's death, will help bring some degree of closure to his family and friends.

Portland Police have been on a roll, closing unsolved murders. In October 2020, Aristotle Stilley was arrested in California after being indicted in Maine for the 2016 murder of David Anderson. The 36-year-old was killed inside an apartment on Gilman Street. Stilley is still in custody, awaiting trial.

And then in April of this year, Zachary Phach and Khang Tran were indicted and charged with murder, aggravated attempted murder, elevated aggravated assault, and conspiracy for the 2012 death of Matthew Blanchard. In that case, Blanchard was walking in Portland with three relatives when someone started shooting at them. Blanchard was killed and two of his relatives were injured.

Thirteen homicides remain unsolved in Portland and police say they will continue to work on them until the perpetrators are brought to justice.