PORTLAND -- William Hanaman, who police say killed his estranged girlfriend last week and then tried to kill himself, continues to be suicidal and will be treated at the state's Riverview Psychiatric Center, authorities said Wednesday.

Hanaman, 51, made his initial court appearance on the murder charge Wednesday morning and will continue to be held without bail.

However, prosecutors asked -- and his lawyer agreed -- that Hanaman be transferred from the Cumberland County Jail, where he has been on suicide watch, to the state's psychiatric facility in Augusta.

"This has nothing to do with criminal responsibility" in the killing of Marion Shea, said Deputy Attorney General William Stokes said. "The thinking was, 'Let's get him to a facility where we can stabilize him and at least reduce the risk of suicide.' "

Many of Shea's family members attended Wednesday's hearing. One daughter wept as Hanaman was led, handcuffed, into the courtroom. His expression was blank, and he answered Superior Court Justice Thomas Warren's questions in a clipped monotone.

"I felt sick to my stomach," Shea's daughter Stacy Vankeuren said later.

She said Hanaman had family dinners with Shea's relatives and played for hours with Shea's grandchildren. "He taught my daughter tick-tack-toe," she said.

Police found Shea's body in Hanaman's apartment on Ocean Avenue on Nov. 11. They also found Hanaman, who was unconscious and surrounded by pills, authorities said. Police did not release details of Hanaman's medical treatment.

Police were called to the apartment after Hanaman's sister called the landlord and said she was worried about his well-being. It was not immediately clear why Hanaman's sister was worried.

Authorities have yet to disclose how Shea died, though additional details about the case may become available today.

Hanaman did not regain consciousness for two days after he was found.

Portland police charged him with murder on Tuesday, transferring him from a hospital to the jail.

Also on Wednesday, Hanaman entered a not guilty plea to a charge of domestic-violence assault stemming from an incident involving Shea on Oct. 7. He failed to show up for his initial court date on that charge.