Note Left by DiPaola Turned Over to Medical Examiner; Family Releases Statement

The note left behind by Middlesex Sheriff  is on its way to the Maine Medical Examiner's office in Augusta, according to Wells police.

"By Maine state law, suicide notes are released to the medical examiner," said Wells Police Sergeant Kent Berdeen. An officer carrying the note left the Wells station a little after 10 a.m. on Monday to make the 75-mile drive to Augusta.

In a statement made Saturday night, Wells police said DiPaola left behind a multi-paged note. No one in the department has read the note, according to Berdeen, which he described as scribbled on note paper.

DiPaola was found dead in a Wells resort motel Saturday night. According to police, after he missed his checkout time, cleaning staff and a manager entered the room and found him on the bed, dead of a gunshot wound to the head.

The sheriff had been in the public eye after numerous media reports about alleged  and , including an attempt to draw a pension while on active duty and campaign finance irregularities. 

Late Sunday night, the DiPaola family released the following statement:

The entire DiPaola Family wishes to acknowledge the outpouring of support and condolences they have received from colleagues, friends, and acquaintances regarding the loss of their beloved husband, father, grandfather, and brother.

We as a family have decided that all funeral and internment services for the Sheriff will be private.

We request that both the public, as well as the media, respect our decision.

No further communications on this matter will be forthcoming.

We thank you in advance for respecting our decision and our privacy.