Trials
A Maine judge sentenced Daniel Markey to 45 years for the murder of Christopher Nickerson.
WABI and NEWS CENTER Maine reported that on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, a Somerset County judge sentenced Daniel V. Markey, 60, of Norridgewock, to 45 years in prison for the March 2025 murder of Christopher Nickerson, 39, his girlfriend's adult son. Markey was convicted in August after a jury deliberated about 40 minutes. The judge also ordered $3,700 in funeral restitution.
By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer ·
A sentence after a murder conviction is the court's judgment on punishment. It is not a second trial on self-defense. Markey's lawyers told jurors he shot Nickerson during a fight that left him injured. Prosecutors argued Nickerson was shot while putting his hands up to leave. The August verdict rejected self-defense. Thursday's number — 45 years, plus funeral costs — is what the judge imposed on that conviction.
A Somerset County judge sentenced Daniel V. Markey, 60, of Norridgewock, Maine, to 45 years in prison on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, for the murder of Christopher Nickerson, 39, WABI and NEWS CENTER Maine reported. Markey was not present for the sentencing hearing in Skowhegan. The judge also ordered him to pay $3,700 toward Nickerson's funeral costs.
An August jury found Markey guilty of intentional or knowing murder after about 40 minutes of deliberations, Central Maine and NEWS CENTER Maine reported. Nickerson was shot to death on March 1, 2025, at the River Road home Markey shared with Nickerson's mother, Kathleen Nickerson. At trial, prosecutors said Markey retrieved a .357 Magnum revolver after a fistfight and shot Nickerson four times as Nickerson was packing to leave. The defense argued self-defense and did not call witnesses. Markey's counsel said after the verdict that they planned to appeal.
At Thursday's sentencing, a victim advocate read a letter from Kathleen Nickerson describing the loss of her son and the harm of learning he was killed by someone who had claimed to love her, WABI reported. Those statements were offered for sentencing. They are not a separate finding of guilt. The August conviction already settled that Markey committed murder.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Markey was presumed innocent through trial; the August verdict is the jury's finding, and Thursday's sentence is the court's judgment on that finding. Under Maine law, a murder conviction carries a range of 25 years to life. The court chose 45 years.
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