The shooting deaths of four people in Bowdoin along with a random shooting on Interstate 295 near Yarmouth that injured three resulted in Maine’s deadliest day of gun violence in years. Although a full picture hasn’t totally unfolded yet, here’s what we know:
Bowdoin killings: At around 9:20 a.m. on Tuesday the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office discovered four bodies at 1459 Augusta Road in Bowdoin. They have been identified as Cynthia R. Eaton, 63, and David Lee Eaton, 66, both of Ocala, Florida, and Robert C. Eger Jr., 72, and Patricia Deraps Eger, 62, who owned the home. Police say the Eatons’ son, Joseph Eaton, 34, confessed to the four killings.
What we know about the victims: The Egers were remembered as friendly, God-fearing people. Patricia Eger was an avid scrapbooker with a penchant for Twizzlers, friends remember, and Robert Eger was a skilled craftsman who formerly worked at Bath Iron Works.
Cynthia Eaton and David Eaton had attempted to help rehabilitate Joseph Eaton when he was ordered to serve jail time in 2017. The couple sent a letter to the Wiscasset courthouse on Jan. 20, 2017, asking if Joseph Eaton could serve probation at their home in Florida so they could offer their “support and guidance.”
But those intentions were thwarted when Joseph Eaton was arrested on Jan. 21, 2017, charged and convicted after a violent incident at a relative’s home, and then ordered to spend three years in a Florida prison, after which his probation was revoked.
The suspect: Joseph Eaton was taken into custody on Tuesday, and is being held without bail at Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset. He told police that he had killed his parents, Cynthia Eaton and David Eaton, as well as the two other people discovered at the Bowdoin home, as well as admitting to firing on vehicles he believed were police following him on I-295, state police said at a Wednesday press conference.
Joseph Eaton has a criminal history dating back to 2013, which includes felony convictions that bar him from possessing firearms under state and federal law. He was released from a Maine prison on Friday after serving time for violating release conditions on a domestic violence charge. Eaton was picked up from the prison by his mother, Cynthia Eaton, before being taken to the Bowdoin residence where the killings occurred.
Yarmouth highway shooting: At about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, three people were shot and injured while driving on the southbound side of I-295 near exit 15. The victims were identified as Sean Halsey, 51, and his two children, Justin Halsey, 29, and Paige Halsey, 25, all of Bowdoinham. Paige Halsey remains in critical condition at Maine Medical Center in Portland. Sean Halsey and Justin Halsey received non-life-threatening injuries.
What’s next: Joseph Eaton faces four charges of murder in the killings of his parents and Robert Eger and Patricia Eger. Eaton is expected to make an initial court appearance on the murder charges at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the District Court in West Bath. No charges have been filed in connection with the interstate shooting, but Joseph Eaton is likely to face charges, Yarmouth police said.
