Episode 194: The Murders of Nicolle Lugdon, Daniel Borders and Lucas Tuscano
On August 13th, 2012, first responders were alerted to a car on fire in an industrial park in Bangor, Maine at around 3:30 a.m. Inside of the car, identified as a white 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix, were the bodies of three people. The bodies were devastatingly burned to the point of being unidentifiable, but were later identified as 24-year-old Nicolle Lugdon, 26-year-old Daniel Borders and 28-year-old Lucas Tuscano.
Nicolle was described as having a contagious smile and an infectious spirit, and her obituary said that to know her was to love her. She had attended Madawaska High School, where she earned honors, pinned and lettered in both varsity basketball and softball, and participated in Jobs for Maine Grads, where she earned several awards and recognitions. Nicolle was very involved in her community and loved volunteering and giving back. She was a hostess for the St. John Valley Career Conference, volunteered as a dog handler for the Can-Am Sled Dog Race, volunteered as a coach for youth sports teams and worked with adults with disabilities. She had a young daughter named Mia who she adored, and she was a wonderful mom.
Daniel was born in Louisville, Kentucky and lived in Hermon, Maine for the last four years of his life after having been in Connecticut for a while. He was a wonderful father to his daughter Hailie Danielle Lee and was described as loving his family more than anything. He was the type of friend who always looked out for his people, and he loved his job working in construction.
Lucas was described as a fun loving person and loved his friends and family with all of his heart. He also loved being outside, especially going camping, and going on mud runs. He looked forward to attending Country Gold Saturday Nights with a Bud Light in hand. His obituary described him as being the one you could call if you needed a helping hand, needed something fixed, a good laugh or just a shoulder to lean on. He was a fantastic uncle and was a father to be, excitedly awaiting the arrival of his daughter Elleigh Rose Tuscano.
Police had found traces of fuel, and they immediately realized that the fire was started intentionally. It was likely that the fire was started to destroy the evidence of the bodies inside. Investigator Stewart Jacobs from the Maine Fire Marshal's Office said that the fire started inside the car and spread rapidly. Investigators spent over three hours removing the remains due to the burns and significant damage from the fire. Due to the extensive burns, it was revealed that some of the bodies were missing limbs. The state’s deputy chief medical examiner Dr. Michael Ferenc said that all of the victims had consumed drugs before they died. Disturbingly, Daniel Borders and Nicolle Lugdon were shot in the head. It was difficult to determine Lucas’ cause of death due to the fire damage, but it did seem that he had been badly beaten.
All three friends were last seen the night before on August 12th leaving an apartment on Bolling Drive in Bangor with 31-year-old Nicholas Sexton, who had just renewed a rental agreement for the Pontiac on August 11th in Rhode Island. Police immediately began investigating Nicholas. On August 14th, the day after the burning car was found, police obtained cell phone records and cell phone location information to track down Nicholas Sexton. Also on that same day, police used the location information obtained from a cell phone belonging to Nicholas’ girlfriend to locate Nicholas in a hotel in Danvers, Massachusetts. The hotel was where Nicholas and his girlfriend had been staying after they left Bangor, Maine together on August 13th, the night of the discovery of the burning car. When police arrived to speak to Nicholas, he declined to answer any questions.
On September 26th, 2012, Nicholas was charged by indictment with three counts of murder for the murders of Nicolle Lugdon, Daniel Borders and Lucas Tuscano as well as one count of arson. The next day on September 27th, 2012, the State filed a notice of joinder, meaning that two legal issues would be joined together into one. In this case, this meant that Nicholas Sexton and his friend, 34-year-old Randall Daluz, would be tried together. Randall, who had an extensive criminal record, was arrested without incident.
Nicholas moved to be relieved from the joinder in July of 2013 as Randall had given statements to police that implicated him in the murders and the arson charge. The court had initially granted the motion, because they felt that it would be a “Bruton Issue,” which is where a confession or statement from someone who’s not testifying in court implicates the defendant and then is brought into evidence in court during their joint trial. Nicholas then moved again for relief from joinder because the court was debating on whether or not to still have two trials. The State moved to reconsider the court's decision to sever the trials and represented that Randall’s statements would not be introduced at trial, but the court denied Nicholas’ motion. They concluded that there was no longer a Bruton problem and Nicholas didn’t demonstrate that joinder would impact his case.
Nicholas also filed a motion to suppress the information from the cell phones that allowed police to track him down. This was unsuccessful.
The joint trial started on May 1st, 2014. Katelyn Lugdon, Nicolle’s sister, testified that she and Daniel Borders met with Nicholas Sexton and Randall Daluz in a motel room on August 11th, 2012. The two were actually dating, and they did have a history of meeting up with Nicholas and Randall to buy drugs that they would then sell. However, the two had gotten uncomfortable with doing this and it had become less of a routine. Katelyn said that once inside the motel room, she saw two guns on the bed, one silver with a rounded barrel and the second gun darker and smaller with two holes. Katelyn said that she saw Nicholas take the silver gun and tuck it under his shirt, while Randall picked up the second, darker in color gun and play around with it. She and Daniel had bought a small amount of cocaine so that they didn’t walk away from the two men not having bought anything, but the fact that they bought a small amount didn’t make Nicholas and Randall happy.
Katelyn testified that during a prior interview with police, she described both guns to them and they showed her pictures of two guns: a derringer and a Jimenez .380 caliber handgun that had been found and pulled out of the Penobscot River.
Calling no other witnesses, Nicholas Sexton took the stand on May 19th, 2014. He testified that after leaving the apartment on Bolling Drive in Bangor on August 12th, 2012, he, Randall, Nicolle, Daniel and Lucas all rode in the white Pontiac Grand Prix to smoke some marijuana. Nicholas said that he drove, Daniel was in the front passenger seat, and Nicolle was in between Randall and Lucas in the back. Daniel allegedly made a comment, which angered Randall, who pulled out the Jimenez .380 caliber handgun and hit him across the head with it several times. Nicholas claims that the gun went off and multiple shots were fired, shooting Daniel in the head. Everyone else started to panic, and Nicholas said that Lucas was “flipping out on” Randall while Nicolle was screaming and crying. Randall yelled at Nicholas to keep driving and took everyone’s cell phones. The car was running out of gas and Randall did not want to pull into a gas station where they could be spotted, so they drove to a friend’s house in Dedham, Massachusetts and took a gas can of fuel.
Randall then told Nicholas to put some gas in the car and save the rest to burn the car. They then all drove to a remote area in Hermon, Maine, and Randall made Nicolle take pills against her will. After she had taken the pills, Randall shot her in the head. Nicholas said in court that Randall told him not to say anything or else he would shoot not only him but his family as well. Nicholas then dropped Randall off at the hotel and Randall aimed the gun at Nicholas, telling him to burn the car or he would shoot him. Nicholas drove the car to the industrial park in Bangor, Maine and set the car on fire with the remaining gas from the gas can.
Loved ones of the victims addressed the courtroom, with Nicolle’s mom stating “Nicolle didn't have a second chance of life, so why do they get a chance?” She also told the judge that her daughter had a heart of gold and would do anything for anyone. Lucas Tuscano's mother stated “I wish we had the death penalty because they don't deserve the right to live.” His best friend also addressed the court, stating “The best part of me was taken. He would do anything for anyone. I have not been the same since he was taken from me."
On May 28th, 2014, the jury reported that it was deadlocked and was not able to reach a unanimous verdict on the charges specifically for the murders of Daniel Borders and Lucas Tuscano. The court declared a mistrial for the two murders, but the jury agreed that Nicholas Sexton was guilty of the murder of Nicolle Lugdon as well as for the count of arson. On May 28, 2014, after fifty hours of jury deliberations, Randall Daluz was found guilty on the three counts of murder and one count of arson.
On July 28th, 2015, Nicholas Sexton was sentenced to 70 years in prison for Nicolle’s murder and 20 years for the arson charge, to be served consecutively. Randall Daluz was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of Nicolle Lugdon, Daniel Borders and Lucas Tuscano.
Image sources:
obituaries.bangordailynews.com - Nicolle’s, Daniel’s and Lucas’s obituaries