Maine Woman Charged With her 14YO Son's Murder Diagnosed With Delusional Disorder

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Megan McDonald, 40, was indicted by a Kennebec County grand jury on a charge of intentional or knowing or depraved indifference murder in connection with the death of Quincy McDonald, which happened on Dec. 19, 2024.

In addition, Megan McDonald was indicted on a charge of aggravated cruelty to animals after four pets were found dead at her Sidney home on Summerhaven Road.

Dr. April O'Grady, a private forensic psychologist who works as a consultant for the state, presented a psychiatric evaluation report during Tuesday's hearing. O'Grady said McDonald suffers from a delusional disorder, which impacts her ability to consult with attorneys and consider her legal options. According to O'Grady, McDonald wants to plead guilty because she was acting in direct response to God, who told her the world cannot continue as it is. McDonald believes the guilty plea would make a statement to the world, O'Grady said.

"She has very entrenched thoughts that are not based in reality," O'Grady said. "They affect her ability to be able to see things as they are."

Assistant Attorney General Lisa Bogue argued McDonald can make clear choices and decisions about legal proceedings. Bogue said she confirmed with O'Grady that McDonald knows she is in jail and that she killed her son, and that she understands the nature of her charges, all the parties involved and where she fits in the legal process.

"She had a full understanding of the consequences of her conduct in a legal setting, and although she believes she is the child of God or that God speaks to her, she understood that had a legal consequence and that she had turned herself in because of that legal consequence," Bogue said.

McDonald's attorneys did not question O'Grady, but did say in court that their client did not agree with the diagnosis.

An affidavit filed by a Maine State Police detective states that McDonald arrived at the Androscoggin County Sheriff's Office in Auburn on Dec. 20, 2024, the morning after the murder, to report that she had killed her son, dog and two tortoises at her house. McDonald later told detectives that she also killed a pet gecko, according to the affidavit.

According to the affidavit, McDonald said she reported the murder to Androscoggin County authorities instead of Kennebec County authorities because she was born at St. Mary's Regional Medical Center in Lewiston. The affidavit also states McDonald told authorities "she was sent to save us from the rapture, but she was too late."

The Androscoggin County Sheriff's Office then requested the Kennebec County Sheriff's Office to conduct a welfare check at McDonald's home. Responding deputies found Quincy McDonald's body in the backyard, along with a dead dog, two dead turtles and a dead lizard.

The affidavit states that McDonald told investigators that on the night of Dec. 19, she had a meal with her son and let him know that God had chosen her for a murder-suicide. She told her son that he needed to be sacrificed, which he disagreed with. According to the affidavit, McDonald told investigators that she gave her son some marijuana with a plan to kill him after he fell asleep, but it did not work.

The affidavit goes on to state that McDonald said her son tried running away, which is when she wrapped the scarf she was wearing around his neck from behind and strangled him until he was unconscious. McDonald then told investigators that after her son had stopped breathing, she flipped him over and stabbed him in the chest with a knife.


An autopsy revealed Quincy McDonald died from a combination of manual strangulation, sharp force injury and asphyxiation. His death was ruled as a homicide.

After her son had died, McDonald said she proceeded to kill one tortoise with a 20-pound weight, kill another tortoise, kill the gecko and then kill one of her dogs with an ax, according to the affidavit.

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Maine woman charged with her son's murder diagnosed with delusional disorder

According to court documents, Sidney resident Megan McDonald told her 14-year-old son, Quincy, that God had chosen her for a murder-suicide and he needed to be sacrificed.

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