Plea Agreement Expected
Joseph Eaton, who confessed to killing his parents and two of their friends before shooting at motorists on a highway, plans to enter pleas Monday that will resolve his criminal case, according to his lawyer. Eaton withdrew his insanity defense late last year, and his defense attorney indicated they expect to resolve the indictments for four counts of murder and other charges during the upcoming change-of-plea hearing.
The Crimes and Confession
Eaton, who has been jailed since his arrest in April 2023, confessed to the killings on a rural Bowdoin property and to wounding three people while shooting at vehicles on Interstate 295 in Yarmouth. The shootings occurred just days after Eaton was released from prison for unrelated crimes.
The Victims
The victims included Eaton’s parents, Cynthia Eaton, 62, and David Eaton, 66, as well as longtime friends Robert Eger, 72, and Patti Eger, 62, who owned the Bowdoin home where they all were staying. The family dog was also killed, leading to an animal cruelty charge.
Highway Shooting
Following the discovery of the bodies on April 18, 2023, three people were injured when shots were fired on I-295 in Yarmouth, approximately 12 miles outside Portland, Maine’s largest city. Eaton faced separate indictments for the Bowdoin home shootings and the highway incident because they occurred in different counties.
Law Enforcement Response
Maine Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck described the shootings as “an attack on the soul of our state.” Despite the severity of this crime, it was overshadowed months later by another tragic event when an Army reservist from Bowdoin killed 18 people in Lewiston, marking the state’s deadliest mass shooting.
Unclear Motive
Police have yet to determine Eaton’s motive for the slayings. Eaton, 35, has a criminal history in Maine, Kansas, and Florida and had just completed a prison sentence in Maine for an aggravated assault case. His parents had been staying with their friends in Bowdoin after Cynthia Eaton picked up her son from a Maine prison on April 14.
