ELLSWORTH, Maine — A man accused of killing a woman in a hit-and-run in Acadia National Park has been found guilty.
According to a Hancock County Superior Court Clerk, a jury deliberated for roughly two hours before finding Raymond Lester guilty of murder in connected to the death of Nicole Mokeme.
Lester, 37, had reportedly been in a relationship with Mokeme.
According to court documents, Mokeme was leading a retreat connected with her Portland nonprofit in Acadia National Park on June 18, 2022. Her body was found on a walking trail near the Schoodic Institute after an apparent hit-and-run crash.
According to an affidavit from a Deputy U.S. Marshal, witnesses in the area say Raymond Lester was drinking vodka and driving erratically in the hours before Mokeme’s death. One witness also says Lester told them "[Mokeme] doesn’t like me anymore."
Shortly after Mokeme’s death, Lester fled the state. Police tracked his license plate down the Eastern U.S. to near Sierra Blanca, Texas on June 21. After that, his location became unknown.
A month later, U.S. Marshals and Mexican police arrested Lester in Cancun, Mexico and extradited him to Hancock County.
The trial began Wednesday, Nov. 1, and concluded Monday.