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

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.

Mr Eaton has reportedly confessed to the killings in Bowdoin, Maine. He was detained on Tuesday after allegedly opening fire while driving down a highway 20 miles away in Yarmouth, injuring three people.

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

He was only released from prison on Friday after serving a term for separate offences and has now been charged with four counts of intentional or knowing murder.

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.

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The grandmother of Maine shooting suspect Joseph Eaton has reacted to his arrest after he allegedly confessed to killing four people, including his own parents.

Betty Fagan lost her daughter Cynthia Eaton in the shooting, who was the mother of the suspect. Police have not yet commented on a motive for the killings, after which Mr Eaton allegedly opened fire on an interstate.

Ms Eaton had picked up her son from prison on 14 April when he was released after serving a term for aggravated assault.

Ms Eaton and her husband David Eaton, the father of the suspect, were found shot dead at a home in Bowdoin on Tuesday morning along with their friends Robert and Patricia Eger.

Ms Fagan said the suspect’s parents had returned to Maine but that they were planning to move to Kansas, where they had previously lived.

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A sister who discovered a crime scene in which four people were shot to death arrived to broken glass, bullet holes, blood and guns strewn about the home, and the suspect was later arrested at the scene of a highway shooting with what appeared to be blood on him, according to state police.

Police found multiple cartridge casings of varying calibers in the vehicle driven by the suspect after shots were fired at vehicles along Interstate 295, wounding three people, state police said.

A state police affidavit released Thursday as the suspect, Joseph Eaton, made his first court appearance contained grisly details, a note found at the scene and a timeline for the events. Eaton showed no emotion during the brief hearing other than to acknowledge to the judge that he understood the charges.

One of his court-appointed attorneys, James Mason, acknowledged after the hearing that the shootings shook the state.

“What happened in Bowdoin is undeniably tragic. But I ask everybody to please reserve judgement,” he said.

Assistant Attorney General Leanne Robbins said the next step for law enforcement is to complete the investigation and present the case to a grand jury while victim advocates provide support to family and friends of the victims.

“This is a horrible crime, unimaginable loss being faced by the victims, and our hearts go out to the victims,” Robbins said.

Police have yet to discuss what might have been a motive behind the shootings on a rural property in Bowdoin and then along a busy interstate highway about 12 miles (19 kilometers) from Maine’s largest city, Portland. Police also have not discussed what gun or guns were used, or how Eaton obtained them.

Eaton, 34, has been jailed since his arrest Tuesday at a chaotic scene along Interstate 295, where traffic backed up as heavily armed law enforcement searched the area.

Police say Eaton confessed to killing four people, including his parents, in Bowdoin and wounding three people while shooting at vehicles. Eaton is charged with four counts of murder for the killings in Bowdoin but has not yet been charged in the highway shootings, officials said.

The court records outline the scene that police encountered on Augusta Road on Tuesday morning.

The 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 said on Wednesday that 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”.

A state police affidavit indicated the discovery of the deaths in Bowdoin was made by Patricia Eger’s sister, who first noticed something was amiss when she saw blood on the steps leading into the home and then saw the carnage and a body. The affidavit noted all bodies were covered and that the family dog had been killed as well.

Investigators who arrived on the scene discovered an unsigned note on an island in the kitchen that referenced that someone had been molested, nothing was done about it and the writer wanted to be freed of pain.

The day before the shooting, a man believed to be Joseph Eaton posted an anguished live video on social media that referenced trauma including molestation. “Being molested and stuff, you know, it destroys somebody,” the man said. He also criticized people who call themselves Christians but are unwilling to forgive.

The suspect had been released four days before the shootings from the Maine Correctional Center in Windham. Police say his mother picked up from prison April 14 after he completed a sentence for aggravated assault.

The latest in a string of mass shootings in the United States began in the small town of Bowdoin, where four people were killed Tuesday, with three bodies discovered in a home and one in a barn, police said. The victims were identified as Joseph Eaton’s parents, Cynthia Eaton, 62, and David Eaton, 66, along with homeowners Robert Eger, 72, and Patricia Eger, 62, police said. The two couples were described as best friends.

Police previously said Eaton told them he began firing on several cars along I-295 soon thereafter because he thought he was being followed by police. Bullets struck a family in one of the vehicles, wounding Sean Halsey, 51; Justin Halsey, 29; and Paige Halsey, 25, police said. Paige Halsey was critically wounded, police said.

After police arrived at the murder scene on Tuesday morning, law enforcement responded to the highway shooting where Sean Halsey, 51, and his two children, Justin, 29, and Paige, 25, had all been shot.

They were all 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.

While police have said that Mr Eaton has confessed to the shootings, they haven’t revealed when the victims were killed. It’s also unclear how the suspect got ahold of the weapon or weapons used.

Following felony convictions in Maine and in Florida, where his parents were living, Mr Eaton was unable to legally own firearms.

Police have said that Ms Eaton picked up her son at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham on Friday where he had just finished serving a sentence after being convicted of assault. The mother reportedly took him to the home of the Egers where they had been staying, according to the Bangor Daily News.

The Thursday release of the affidavit revealed that Ms Eger’s sister told the authorities that she texted Ms Eger at about 8.30am on Tuesday to say that she would be at their house at about 9am that morning but she never got a response.

The sister had been staying at the home but had left to allow the Eatons to stay there while they collected their son from prison. She said she was going back to collect some clothing she had left behind, according to WMTW.

When she arrived at the house, the sister saw two drops of blood on the front steps of the house.

She opened the front door and called out but didn’t get a reply. She then spotted broken glass and blood on the floor in addition to a body covered by a towel on the kitchen floor.

The sister said she couldn’t tell if it was Mr Eger or David Eaton as they had similar appearances, but going off his clothing, she guessed it was Mr Eger.

She said she saw “bullet holes everywhere,” according to the legal filing.

She left when she saw drag marks throughout the home, waiting outside until police arrived.