Cushing — Two family members said Oct. 3 they were shocked by the news that Richard Mills, 48, of Cushing had been shot and killed.

"I was hoping to reconnect with him once my child was born," said his daughter Alisha Sophia Mills, 21, of Waldoboro. "We never expected anything like this to happen."

She said she had not spoken to her father in about four years. She said the story of his death was published in the news before she was told about it. Her mother, Mills' ex-wife Leanne Caires, said her daughter was devastated by the news.

Andrew Kierstead, 40, of St. George has been charged with murder and is accused of shooting Mills multiple times with a shotgun Sept. 27 at Mills' home on Far Meadow Road in Cushing.

Caires said Mills loved hunting and fishing and the outdoors, adding that he lived very simply on a dirt road in the woods. She also described him as "kind of a loner."

She said he had been disabled for about 15 years with degenerative disc disease in his back, which left him unable to work. Before becoming disabled he worked for Haskell's Water Treatment and he worked as a clam digger.

Both Caires and Alisha said Mills was not a drug dealer. Court documents filed by police state there was an argument between the two men over money, and Kierstead told police he owed Mills $250 for drugs.

Caires argued that Mills is not here to tell his side of the story and the police documents are based on testimony from Kierstead.

She added that Mills may have had prescription painkillers due to his back problems.

"I don't think he was like that at all," Alisha said of her father in terms of being involved with drugs.

"He had his problems," Caires said. "But he was not a bad person. He had a good heart."

Alisha was Mills' only child, Caires said. Alisha is expecting a child of her own, due in November.

Mills is also survived by family members including his mother in Thomaston, and two sisters in Thomaston and Spruce Head. So far other family members have not wanted to comment on the story.

News Editor Daniel Dunkle can be reached at ddunkle@courierpublicationsllc.com. Follow him on twitter at @DanDunkle.