A prominent Maine philanthropist and retired Navy officer was found shot to death inside his senior living apartment in an upscale Maryland suburb on Valentine’s Day, and authorities have made no arrests in a case that has shocked two communities separated by hundreds of miles.
Robert Fuller Jr., 87, was discovered unresponsive with severe head trauma at the Cogir Potomac Senior Living facility in Potomac, Maryland, on the morning of February 14. Montgomery County police responded to the 10800 block of Potomac Tennis Lane around 7:34 a.m. after receiving a medical emergency call that investigators say came in as a “reported code.”
First responders attempted life-saving measures, but Fuller was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers immediately noticed trauma to his head, and after processing the scene, homicide detectives confirmed he had been shot. His death is now being investigated as a homicide.
Police have released no suspect information, and no arrests have been made as the investigation enters its fifth day. Detectives cannot yet say whether Fuller was targeted or whether the killer came from inside or outside the facility. Fuller’s body was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for autopsy to determine the official cause and manner of death.
Fuller moved to the Washington, D.C. area a few years ago with his wife to be closer to her family. He remained in Potomac after her passing. Friends described him as a millionaire attorney who practiced law in Maine for more than 35 years, a senior officer in the Naval Reserve, and a philanthropist who donated millions to help his community.
In 2021, Fuller donated $1.64 million to modernize Cony High School’s Alumni Field complex in Augusta, Maine, rescuing a $2.3 million improvement project that had stalled due to lack of funding and COVID-19 related municipal finance challenges. The City Council subsequently renamed the athletic field complex Fuller Field in his honor. The improvements included a new artificial turf playing field, bleacher upgrades, and a new track and field events area.
“I believe that when a high school has a continuing history of athletic success, it fosters a sense of community pride,” Fuller said at the time of the donation. “So I don’t think of my action as simply a gift but rather as an investment in Augusta’s future.”
Fuller and his late wife Moira had lived in Winthrop, Maine, and contributed to numerous civic causes throughout the region, including MaineGeneral Medical Center, Kennebec Valley YMCA, Lithgow Public Library, Old Fort Western, and the Kennebec Historical Society. A senior officer in the Naval Reserve, Fuller also authored the novel “Unnatural Deaths,” published in 2009.
Fuller carried a complicated family legacy as a descendant of Melville Weston Fuller, who served as the eighth Chief Justice of the United States from 1888 to 1910. The Fuller Court presided over the landmark Plessy v. Ferguson case in 1896, which established the “separate but equal” doctrine that permitted racial segregation and upheld Jim Crow laws for decades.
The historical connection stirred controversy in recent years when Fuller funded the installation of a statue of his ancestor outside the Kennebec County Courthouse in 2013. The statue became controversial after the killing of George Floyd in 2020 and the scrutiny that followed of the county’s history of racial injustice. Kennebec County commissioners voted to return the statue to Fuller amid public outcry, and he had it removed at his own expense. Fuller considered but ultimately rejected a plan to feature the statue in a proposed museum across from its former spot at the courthouse.
Kent London, president of the Kennebec Historical Society, mourned the loss of a major benefactor with deep roots in Maine’s capital city. Fuller had helped the society purchase its headquarters building—the Henry Weld Fuller Jr. House, which once belonged to one of his ancestors—and was a driving force in establishing the society’s development fund, named for his late wife.
“He’s going to be missed,” London said. “The history of the Fuller family goes back to the very beginning of Augusta.”
Maine State Rep. Bill Bridgeo, who first met Fuller while serving as Augusta’s city manager, said the philanthropist donated to “a new YMCA, a new hospital in town, a big expansion to our high school.” Bridgeo told NBC Washington he is planning to honor Fuller in Maine’s state legislature.
The killing has left residents at the Cogir Potomac Senior Living facility shaken. Executive Director Rachel Grant sent an email to community members Monday afternoon emphasizing that safety remains the top priority. Grant wrote that the incident was isolated and there is no ongoing threat to residents or staff, while declining to share specific details out of respect for those involved and to protect the investigation’s integrity. Since the weekend, the facility has increased safety measures and added extra security staff. Counseling will be among the other resources offered.
Montgomery County police are urging anyone with information about the crime to contact Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-8477. Tips may remain anonymous, and information leading to an arrest could qualify for a reward ranging from $250 to $10,000.
The case marks a particularly troubling development in an affluent area not accustomed to violent crime, and investigators continue working to determine what led to the shooting death of an elderly man inside what should have been a secure facility. Fuller’s contributions to Maine communities and his military service have prompted an outpouring of remembrances from those who knew him as a generous, civic-minded philanthropist.
Sources:
https://www.foxnews.com/us/beloved-millionaire-maine-philanthropist-shot-dead-ritzy-dc-suburb-assisted-living-home-no-arrests-made
https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/millionaire-killed-robert-fuller-cogir-potomac-senior-living-facility-death-homocide-murder-10800-block-of-potomac-tennis-lane-montgomery-county-department-of-police
https://wgme.com/news/local/maine-lawyer-and-philanthropist-shot-to-death-in-maryland-robert-fuller-jr-gun-violence-cogir-potomac-senior-living-supreme-court-chief-justice-melville-fuller
https://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail_Pol.aspx?Item_ID=48268
https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/02/17/augusta-philanthropist-robert-fuller-jr-killed-in-maryland/
https://www.wabi.tv/2026/02/17/former-maine-lawyer-philanthropist-robert-g-fuller-jr-shot-killed-maryland-senior-living-facility/
https://wtop.com/local/2026/02/police-identify-87-year-old-man-killed-at-potomac-senior-living-facility/
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/man-killed-in-potomac-assisted-living-home-was-philanthropist-from-maine/4062557/