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Colleague: Mother found murdered in Maine said she was afraid of her son

A mother murdered in Maine by her son and his friends may have feared for her life.

Kimberly Mironovas was starting a new career and recently moved some 200 miles from Ashland, Massachusetts to Litchfield, Maine. The 47-year-old mother enrolled in the Aveda Institute of Maine where she was studying cosmetology.

"She loved making people feel good about themselves. And I think she would have made a great hair dresser if she could have fulfilled her dream," said Anthony Coco, President of the Aveda Institute of Maine.

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Coco believes Mironovas was doing what she loved, but he says outside of school, there were personal struggles involving her teenage son.

"I think things toward the end, in the last few weeks, started to escalate," said Coco. "I know she had talked to a couple of teachers about just trying to do the right thing for her son."

But, no one expected the devastating outcome.

"No one realized, really, it was that bad. She was... maybe feared for her life. She was struggling with it. And she also mentioned she was somewhat afraid of her son," said Coco.

Mironovas was found stabbed and strangled to death at her Litchfield home Sunday morning. The suspects are her 15-year-old son and two other teenagers, 13- and 15-year-old friends from Ashland.

Court documents say the teens concocted a plan to "crush prescription pills.... which they planned to place into Kimberly Mironovas' wine..."

Prosecutors say the crushed medication never dissolved and they moved on to another plan.

They allegedly waiting until Mironovas would be asleep and the two boys, wearing gloves, went into her room and strangled her, then her own son pulled a knife and stabbed her in the neck.

"We're all in shock," said Coco.

Ashland Public Schools Superintendent James Adams released the following statement Tuesday morning:

"You may be aware that this afternoon reports have been published stating that two of our students have been arrested. It is important to note that the students are in the custody of Maine Law Enforcement Officials and we have no information beyond what is being reported by the media. This matter is being handled by the Maine Judicial System.


The Ashland Public Schools recognize however that, this news will come as a shock to students, faculty, parents, and community members. We encourage parents to engage in conversation with their children regarding the alleged incident and reach out to school counselors for additional support.


The Ashland Public Schools will have no further comment and would direct all questions to Maine Law Enforcement."