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Joseph Eaton, center bottom inset; his parents, David and Cynthia Eaton, right inset, and their friends Robert Eger and Patricia Eger, left inset. (Images from NBC’s Maine affiliate WCSH)
Additional charges have been lodged against a 34-year-old convicted felon accused of shooting and killing his parents and their two friends at a home in Maine before going on a terrifying shooting rampage on a freeway nearby that wounded three family members in a car on their way to the grocery store.
Joseph Eaton, 34, was indicted last week on attempted murder, firearms and other charges after already being charged with the fatal shootings of his parents, Cynthia Eaton, 62 and David Eaton, 66, and their friends Robert Eger, 72, and Patricia Eger, 62, found dead at the Eaton’s home in Bowdoin on April 18.
Eaton now faces charges in the freeway shootings that injured Sean Halsey and his adult children, Paige Halsey and Justin Halsey, including possessing or having control of a gun after being imprisoned for aggravated assault. The indictment also charges Eaton for allegedly shooting at three other individuals.
He is being held without bail at the Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset.
The judge assigned to the case has ordered a psychological evaluation after Eaton’s attorney said in court papers he has an “extensive and well-documented history of issues pertaining to mental health.”
Eaton’s lawyer Andrew Wright did not immediately return an email seeking comment from Law&Crime. A previous lawyer representing Eaton said the shooting rampage was “undeniably tragic” but asked the public to reserve judgment, the Portland Press Herald reported.
An affidavit described the chaotic situation that morning when the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Department responded to a call reporting a dead man at a home in Bowdoin.
Once there, authorities found four bodies, three in the home and one outside, as well as a dead dog, the affidavit said.
Lisa Shea, Patricia Eger’s sister who discovered the bodies, told authorities she had gone to the home in the days leading to the grim discovery.
She said she left days earlier so David Eaton and Cynthia Eaton could stay there as they waited for the arrival of their son from prison. Eaton has a long criminal history that spans three states. He had been released from prison days earlier after completing a sentence in Maine for a probation violation. Eaton also served 3 years in a Florida prison for aggravated assault and was released in February 2021, records showed. Eaton also has prior juvenile convictions in Kansas for burglary and theft, the Witchita Eagle reported.
Shea said she had stayed with her son elsewhere and had returned on April 18 to get a sweatshirt she left behind. Shea texted her sister at 8:30 a.m., letting her know she would be by the residence around 9 a.m., but she didn’t get a response.
When she walked to the door of her sister’s home at 9:07 a.m., Shea saw two drops of blood on the front steps.
She opened the door and yelled, but no one answered. She entered the home and saw broken glass and blood on the floor, along with a body in the kitchen covered by a towel.
“She lifted the towel and observed who she believed was Robert Eger,” the affidavit said. “She said she could not be certain because Robert looked similar to David Eaton.”
She saw several firearms lying around the home. Bullet holes were everywhere.
She followed drag marks leading to another area of the house for a short distance before walking out of the home and remaining there until authorities arrived.
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Detectives found a note on the kitchen island saying someone had been molested, and nothing was done about it, the affidavit said.
“The note mentioned someone being freed of pain and that the writer of the note wanted a new life,” the affidavit said. “The note was not written to anyone, nor was it signed by anyone.”
Then, about 90 minutes into the investigation, the Augusta Regional Communications Center (RCC) received a 911 call from a woman saying a gunman started shooting at her vehicle on Interstate 295.
A minute later, the RCC received information about a shooting on Interstate 295 that wounded the Halseys.
In a news conference recounting the terror, Sean Halsey, 51, said he was driving to get groceries with his children — Paige Halsey, 25, in the passenger seat and Justin Halsey, 29, in the backseat — when they heard pops, and the back window exploded.
Halsey said he sped up to escape, then pulled over to help his kids. Justin Halsey was shot in the back and had some significant tissue damage. His daughter was shot once in the lower side and back, causing internal damage.
“It was just so unexpected,” Sean Halsey said.
Another motorist reported seeing four vehicles stopped on the shoulder of the interstate, which she thought was weird. She said as she began to take exit 15, she saw a small gray vehicle stop extremely fast. She said a stocky man with short or no hair got out of the car and pointed a pistol at her.
Another caller reported a suspicious male waving his hands with what appeared to be blood on him standing in the middle of the road at exit 15, where authorities took him into custody, the affidavit said.
Multiple small-caliber and large-caliber cartridge casings were located in the passenger side of his rented gray Buick Encore with a Florida registration, police said.
In an interview with detectives, Joseph Eaton admitted to shooting his parents and their friends at the home and to shooting at a vehicle while traveling on Interstate 295, the affidavit said.
Eaton’s next hearing is scheduled for June 28. He has not yet entered a plea to the charges.
Meanwhile, friends and family members who knew the victims spoke fondly of them to local media.
Linda Walker, a longtime friend of Patti Eger, told the Press Herald she always had a smile and loved to feed friends when they came to visit. She said her husband was a good guy who “would give you the shirt off his back.”
“These were very good people,” Walker said, the paper reported. “They didn’t deserve to die. This has left their son and daughter-in-law without parents.”
Cynthia Eaton’s mother and stepfather, Betty and Kenneth Fagan, told the paper the couple had been married for 38 years, shared a love of motorcycles and traveled across the country on their bikes.
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