Maine: Man who ‘killed parents and two friends also stole 9 guns from them’ | US News
A man who confessed to shooting and killing his parents and two of their friends has been charged with stealing nine guns following their murders.
On April 18, the bodies of David Eaton, 66, Cynthia Eaton, 62, Robert Eger, 72, and Patti Eger, 62, were found in a home in Bowdoin, Maine. All four were killed by gunshot wounds, police said.
According to an affidavit, the Egers owned the Bowdoin home but let the Eatons stay on the property while they waited for their son to come home after his release from prison.
Shortly after the bodies were found, police in the nearby town of Yarmouth responded to reports of a gunman shooting at cars on Interstate-295 – just 20 miles from the grisly scene.
An 911 caller told dispatchers they saw a “suspicious man” standing at a freeway exit, “standing in the middle of the road waving his hands, apparently covered in blood.”
Three family members, later identified as Sean Halsey, 51, Justin Halsey, 29, and Paige Halsey, 25, were injured on I-295.
Joseph Eaton, 34, was arrested after police rushed to the Yarmouth crime scene. According to the investigators, he confessed to having killed his parents and the Eger family while in police custody.
Eaton was indicted by two different grand juries in Sagadahoc County and Cumberland County on a total of 27 counts, including murder, theft of a gun and attempted murder.
Eaton is also charged with attempted murder for shooting the Halsey family and three other motorists on the freeway.
In addition, Eaton was charged with aggravated animal cruelty for killing the Egers’ dog – a golden doodle named Max.
He was also accused of stealing a large amount of guns and between $1,000 and $10,000 from his parents and the Egers after their deaths.
According to investigators, Eaton stole eight guns that belonged to Robert Eger and a ninth firearm that belonged to his mother, Cynthia Eaton.
It’s unclear if the guns Eaton used in the highway killings and shootings were the same ones he stole. After serving a sentence for aggravated assault, he was banned by law from possessing firearms.
Investigators are still looking for a motive for the massacre.
An investigator at the Bowdoin scene, according to the affidavit, found “a note on the kitchen island saying someone had been molested and nothing was done about it.” “The note also mentioned freedom from pain and the writer of the note wished for a new life,” the document reads.
The note was neither signed nor attributed to anyone, the affidavit said.
Eaton has not yet been charged and has not filed a formal complaint.
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