Joseph Eaton is the suspect accused in the shooting deaths of four people who were found in a Bowdoin, Maine, home on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, Maine State Police said in a news release.
Police previously said those deaths are connected to shootings on I-295 that injured another three people, but the news release does not say Eaton was charged with those. The Sun Journal reported that he is the suspect in both shooting sprees.
“Maine State Police have arrested and charged 34-year-old Joseph Eaton of Bowdoin with the murder of the four victims located in Augusta Road residence in Bowdoin this morning,” police wrote in the news release, which was emailed to Heavy.
“Investigators will be working throughout the night processing multiple scenes and continuing to interview people involved with this incident. Eaton was transported to Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset and will make his initial appearance in court later this week. A press briefing will be held later in the day on 04/19/23 to address the depth of this investigation.”
Police noted: “If anyone was involved or witnessed the incident in either location, please call the Augusta Regional Communications Center at 207.624.7076 Option number 9.”
The victims have not yet been publicly identified. According to the Sun Journal, the Bowdoin incident occurred at a home on Augusta Road, also known as Route 201.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Day Before the Shooting, Joseph Eaton Posted a Facebook Video in Which He Said He Wished People Would Forgive Him & Indicated He Was Dealing With ‘Trauma’
The day before the shooting, Eaton livestreamed on Facebook, where he uses the name Joey Eaton, and mentioned a woman’s name in the video caption. In the video, he grew emotional and revealed he had been molested.
“I’m probably going to get emotional just talking about it,” he said. “But, a lot of people, a lot of people looking at you and think, oh well, it’s just another, you know, f*** up. Just another guy who, you know, can’t get his stuff right and treat people like s***. You know, and then they turn around and claim to be Christian, and you can’t forgive somebody or understand what they go through, and you can’t give someone a second chance,” he says in the emotional video, in which he breaks down.
“But you say you’re Christian; how does that make sense? Why can’t you just try to, try to take it slow, try to get to know the person again? What good does it do to hate somebody? You know, it destroys you. It’s not the way things were supposed to be done. It’s not the way we were made,” he said.
“Just need to try to forgive me for the things I did. I have been dealing with trauma for a long time on things I don’t talk to people about. Being molested and stuff. It destroys somebody. I know I’m good for my kids. I just wish someone would forgive me, you know, some people. I don’t get it,” he said. Eaton did not make it clear what he had done that needed forgiveness, but in the caption, he wrote, “I’m scared to death about what people will say about this. It’s opened my story. Thanks for never giving up on me I love u.”
On Sunday, April 16, Eaton wrote, “Life as a whole is suffering. You work for the duration, you get sick, people you love die, and your guaranteed to have ‘bad days.’ You die and lose everything you spent your life obtaining. There is more to it than meets the eye. Life is a trial for what is to come.”
Four days before the shootings, on April 14, he wrote, “It’s finally over. There are so many people I can’t wait to see. I’ll be back in Wichita soon.”
2. Maine State Police Say They Found ‘4 People Deceased’ Inside a Home in Bowdoin
Facebook (Joseph Eaton)Joseph Eaton in a photo from his Facebook page dated April 14, 2023.
In a news conference, Maine State Police Lieutenant Randall Keaten told reporters that police responded to an address in Bowdoin, “where they found four people deceased within the home.”
Then, shortly after 10:30 a.m., state police received “reports of several vehicles being hit by gunfire.” Keaten said the shots were reported in the southbound lanes between mile marker 17 and exit 15 on I-295.
Maine State Police: 4 found dead inside a home in Bowdoin. This is connected to a shooting incident on I-295 that left three injured in Yarmouth and closed a section of the highway. @WMTWTV
“A person of interest has been detained, and the incidents are connected,” he said.
In a news release emailed to Heavy, Maine State Police said the agency is “currently investigating several shootings that occurred in Bowdoin and Yarmouth on Tuesday morning, April 18, 2023. Both shootings are connected. Investigators are currently working these scenes and will result in the road closure of I-295 southbound at Mile Marker 20 in Freeport to the Exit 15 off- ramp in Yarmouth for an undetermined amount of time.”
Interstate 295 has re-opened except for Exit 15 Southbound in Yarmouth. The exit is expected to open within the next hour.
They noted: “A person of interest has been detained in this matter. Through investigation Law enforcement has determined there is no threat to the public at this time.”
According to the Maine State police news release, “the four deceased individuals in Bowdoin have been transported to the Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta where an autopsy will be performed to determined manner and cause of death.”
They noted: “If anyone was involved or witnessed the incident in either location, please call the Augusta Regional Communications Center at 207.624.7076 Option number 9.”
3. The Home Where 4 People Were Found Dead Is Registered to Robert Eger, Who Owns a Concrete Company
The Bowdoin home where four people were found dead of gunshot wounds is owned by Robert Eger, along with his wife Patti Eger, according to online records. Police have not yet released the identity of the victims. Patti Eger had commented on Eaton’s Facebook page.
One person wrote on Facebook in a comment thread, “I knew Bob and Patti, you couldn’t find a nicer couple. Tragic.”
A neighbor of the Egers told Maine’s Total Coverage that “the husband owns a concrete company and builds foundation.”
Robert Eger is listed as the contact for a company called ICF Specialist in the Maine Supply Chain Database. “ICF Specialist focuses mainly on building high quality, energy efficient, low maintenance custom homes as well as small to large additions and remodeling projects in southern Maine,” the page says.
4. Joseph Eaton Had ‘a Violent Criminal History’
Facebook (Joseph Eaton)Joseph Eaton in a photo on his Facebook page dated April 14, 2023.
According to the Bangor Daily News, Eaton has “a violent criminal history dating back a decade,” with 15 previous criminal charges in Maine since 2013, including felony assault, aggravated assault, simple assault and probation violations. “Those crimes include felonies that bar people from possessing guns under state and federal law,” the outlet reported.
Eaton “was just coming off an eight-month sentence in March 2022 after a felony assault conviction in Knox County,” north of Yarmouth and Bowdoin, according to the Bangor Daily News. Bowdoin is in Sagadahoc County and Yarmouth is in Cumberland County, Maine.
5. Videos Showed the Scene on the Interstate
Maine State Police: 4 found dead inside a home in Bowdoin. This is connected to a shooting incident on I-295 that left three injured in Yarmouth and closed a section of the highway.
Four people have been found dead inside a home in Bowdoin on the Augusta Road. This is connected…
Several videos were shared on social media showing the scene on the interstate.
According to the Sun Journal, Ian Halsey of Bowdoinham said two of the Yarmouth victims from the interstate shooting were his cousins.
BREAKING: Maine State Police confirm four people were found dead in a home in Bowdoin this morning. We are outside a very large police presence at 1459 Augusta Road. The incident in Bowdoin is connected to this morning’s highway shooting @WGME
“My cousin is in critical condition and my other cousin is stable. There is no connection between the victims. It was random that my family was shot at,” Halsey said to the newspaper.
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