by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Maine State Police tonight state the Feb. 9 death of a Pembroke woman is being ruled a homicide, following a Thursday autopsy.

On Wednesday near 5:30 p.m., the Washington County Sheriff's Office Wednesday responded to 515 Leighton Point Road in Pembroke to a report of an unresponsive female, who died under suspicious circumstances. The victim has been identified as Paula Johnson, 53, of Pembroke.

Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit North and the Maine State Police Evidence Response Team responded to the residence and continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding Johnson's death.

Johnson's death is the 10th reported murder in Washington County since 2017, with eight of those deaths taking place in the last two years, and four since Nov. 2021.

If anyone has information about the death or saw anything on the Leighton Point Road in the last few days that seems suspicious, please call the Maine State Police dispatch in Bangor at 973-3700 and leave a message for Detective Adam Bell.

No further information is being released at this time.