Maine shooting Grisly scene at Bowdoin home revealed as Joseph Eaton motive unknown

Cynthia Eaton, David Eaton, Patricia Eger and Robert Eger were named as the four victims killed

Four bodies found inside home connected to shooting on I-295, Yarmouth Police says

Court records in the Maine shooting spree revealed the grisly crime scene discovered by police called to the scene after suspect Joseph Eaton allegedly shot and killed four people, including his parents and their two friends.

The suspect appeared in court in West Bath on Thursday, his first appearance since the killings.

The victims, who all died of gunshot wounds, include his parents Cynthia Eaton, 62 and David Eaton, 66, and their friends Robert Eger, 72 and Patricia Eger, 62.

Court documents state that Patti’s sister visited the home at about 9am, finding drops of blood near the door, WABI reported.

Inside, she discovered a number of guns and bullet holes. She exited the home and called 911.

Police have said they found one victim in a barn and three others in the home. Court documents reveal that a dog was also shot at the scene.

Detectives searching the area also discovered a note stating that someone had been molested and that “there was nothing done about it”

The note also stated that someone had been freed of pain and that the author of the note wanted “a new life”.

The four victims are believed to have been killed one day before they were discovered on Tuesday morning.

Not long after the discovery, police responded to a shooting along a highway where Sean Halsey, 51, and his two children, Justin, 29, and Paige, 25, had all been shot.

They were transported to Maine Medical Center.

The father and son suffered injuries not considered life-threatening while Ms Halsey was in critical condition. Mr Halsey said on Wednesday afternoon that his daughter’s breathing tube had been removed and that she was on the road to recovery.

The car the suspect had been driving was rented by his parents at Portland Jetport when they arrived in the state on 13 April to collect their son upon his release from prison.

Mr Eaton didn’t enter a plea in court on Thursday. His next court date has been scheduled for 28 June.

Key points

• Suspect killed parents and their friends before going on highway shooting rampage
• Maine shooting spree: What we know about the deadly attacks on a home and highway
• Maine shooting suspect Joseph Eaton shot his parents and two others before opening fire on random highway
• Joseph Eaton’s grandmother reacts to horror Maine shooting spree as motive remains a mystery
• Maine shooting suspect Joseph Eaton left note about being ‘free’ after killing parents, two others and a dog

[19 April 2023 20:00 · AP]

Previous convictions prevented suspect from legally owning guns

Suspect Joseph Eaton was charged over the past decade with more than a half-dozen crimes and served an eight-month sentence last year for assault, according to state records. Past convictions included aggravated assault, a felony that would prevent him from legally having a firearm.

The origins and ownership of the firearms used in Tuesday’s shootings were unclear.

[19 April 2023 20:06 · Gustaf Kilander]

Maine State Police hold press conference

[19 April 2023 20:24 · Gustaf Kilander]

Maine shooting suspect Joseph Eaton shot his parents and two others before opening fire on random highway

Among the four victims shot dead in Maine were the suspect’s parents.

Joseph Eaton, 34, has been charged with four counts of murder after reportedly shooting and killing his parents his father David Eaton, 66, his mother Cynthia Eaton, 62, and their friends Robert Eger, 72, and Patricia Eger, 62.

The suspect was released from prison just four days before he went on a rampage, shooting and killing the four people at a home and wounding another three people while driving down a highway.

Suspect Joseph Eaton, 34, left the Maine Correctional Center in Windham on Friday when he was picked up by his mother, according to the state authorities.

[19 April 2023 20:30 · Rachel Sharp]

Woman who commented on suspect’s social media posts lived where bodies found

Maine State Police said that officers were called to a house in Bowdoin on Tuesday to find four victims dead from gunshot wounds.

Not long after the grim discovery was made, an assailant opened fire on cars driving along Interstate 295 in nearby Yarmouth.

Three drivers were shot in the attack – with one of them now in critical condition.

The two incidents are believed to be connected and Mr Eaton was taken into custody by police.

He was charged with four counts of murder over the victims in the home and is being held at Two Bridges Regional Jail.

He will make an initial court appearance later in the week, police said.

None of the victims have been publicly identified and no motive has been given.

Property records seen by The Independent show that a woman who had commented on Mr Eaton’s Facebook posts in the past lived at the address where the four victims were found.

[19 April 2023 21:00 · Gustaf Kilander]

Maine shooting suspect Joseph Eaton was released from prison four days before rampage

The suspect in the Maine shootings was released from prison just four days before he allegedly went on a rampage, shooting and killing four people at a home and wounding another three people while driving down a highway.

Suspect Joseph Eaton, 34, left the Maine Correctional Center in Windham on Friday. He was sentenced in March 2021, according to the director of governmental affairs for the Maine Department of Corrections, Anna Black. He had been serving a sentence after a probation violation, the state official said on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.

Following his 14 April release, Mr Eaton was arrested on Tuesday after four bodies were found in a home on Augusta Road in Bowdoin. The killings have been connected to the highway shooting in which three people were injured later on Tuesday about 20 miles away in Yarmouth.

[19 April 2023 21:30 · Rachel Sharp]

Maine shooting spree: What we know about the deadly attacks on a home and highway

Seven people were shot – four of them fatally – when a gunman embarked on a shooting spree across two different locations in Maine on Tuesday.

The horror incident first began at a home in Bowdoin where four victims were found dead before police were called to reports of a random shooting at cars on a nearby highway in Yarmouth.

Suspect Joseph Eaton, a 34-year-old convicted felon who was released from prison just days earlier, was arrested and charged with murder.

Now, the victims, their families and the communities of Bowdoin and Yarmouth are the latest to join a growing list impacted by gun violence in America.

Here’s what we know so far:

[19 April 2023 22:00 · Gustaf Kilander]

Suspect killed parents and their friends before going on highway shooting rampage

Among the four victims shot dead in Maine were the suspect’s parents.

Joseph Eaton, 34, has been charged with four counts of murder after reportedly shooting and killing his father David Eaton, 66; his mother Cynthia Eaton, 62; and their friends Robert Eger, 72; and Patricia Eger, 62.

The suspect was released from prison just four days before he went on a rampage, shooting and killing those at the home and wounding another three people while driving down a highway.

The suspect left the Maine Correctional Center in Windham on Friday when he was picked up by his mother, according to the state authorities.

The shooting took place at the home of the Egers. Three of the bodies were found inside the home, while Mr Eaton’s father was found at the property in a “non-attached garage,” according to the authorities.

[19 April 2023 22:30 · Gustaf Kilander]

Killings connected to highway shooting

The killings have been connected to the highway shooting in which three people were injured on Tuesday about 20 miles away in Yarmouth.

Col Bill Ross of Maine State Police identified the three people shot on the highway as 51-year-old Shawn Halsey, 29-year-old Justin Halsey, and 25-year-old Paige Halsey. Ms Halsey remains in critical condition at Maine Medical Center.

Speaking about the deceased, Col Ross said that “the office of the chief medical examiner determined that all died of gunshot wounds and were determined to be homicides”.

[19 April 2023 23:00 · Gustaf Kilander]

Suspect started shooting on highway because he thought he was being chased

Joseph Eaton began shooting on the highway because he thought he was being hunted by the police, Col Bill Ross said. The suspect had spent the last two years in jail, the colonel added.

“Mr Eaton was taken by Major Crimes detectives and Portland police officers to the Portland Police Department where he gave a confession and admitted to killing his parents and his parents’ friends – he admitted to killing his parents David and Cynthia and their friends Robert and Patricia in the residence at 1459 Augusta Road,” he said.

“He had also admitted that he shot vehicles on Interstate 295 because he thought he [was] being followed by police officers,” Col Ross said.

[19 April 2023 23:30 · Gustaf Kilander]

Friend discovered victims after several contact attempts

Col Bill Ross said that “a few days ago, he was released from Windham Correctional Center, where he was serving about two years for aggravated assault. He was picked up I believe on April 14 at the Windham correctional facility by his mother Cynthia and they drove to the residence in Bowdoin where the murders occurred”.

The authorities didn’t specify when the killings took place – a friend of the Egers discovered the bodies after making several attempts to contact the couple and eventually went over to check in on them.

When asked about the suspect’s living arrangements, Col Ross said, “He’s been in jail for two years and [on] April 14 of this year his mother picked him up at the Wyndham Correctional Facility”.

He added that “his parents were involved in his accommodations”.