Man charged with killing parents and tbeir friends who he lived with held on no bail

Joseph Eaton (Two Bridges Jail photo)

WISCASSET, Maine - The man accused in the deaths of his parents and another couple in Bowdoin on Tuesday was arraigned today by video at the Two Bridge Jail in Wiscasset.

Joseph Eaton, 34, of Bowdoin, stands charged with four counts of murder and is being held without bail.

Police first got involved in the horrific killings on Tuesday around 9:20 a.m. when the Sagadahoc County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call from a family member requesting a welfare check at 1459 Augusta Road in Bowdoin. The family member who had not been able to reach anyone drove to the home to try and make contact and discovered a deceased person.

Sheriff's Deputies arrived at 9:40 a.m. and found three more victims. Deceased in the house were homeowners 72-year-old Robert Eger and his wife 62-year-old Patricia Eger as well as 62-year-old Cynthia Eaton, according to a statement sent on Wednesday by DOS Public Information Officer Shannon Moss.

Outside in the barn 66-year-old David Eaton was found deceased.

Meanwhile, shortly after 10:30 a.m. Police from Yarmouth, Falmouth, and Cumberland Police Departments responded to Interstate 295 to support State Troopers with multiple people and vehicles being hit by gunfire. One northbound vehicle was struck by stray gunfire and three southbound vehicles were struck by gunfire in this incident. Three people were transported from the I-295 scenes to Maine Medical Center with gunshot wounds, including 51-year-old Sean Halsey and his two children, 29-year-old Justin Halsey, and 25-year-old Paige Halsey who are from Bowdoinham. Paige Halsey remains in critical condition, while Sean Halsey and his son, Justin, received non-life-threatening injuries.

During this time searches were conducted between Mile Marker 17 South and the Southbound off ramp at Exit 15. During the search, Joseph Eaton was detained in a wooded area near the Exit 15 Southbound off ramp at 10:50 a.m. The vehicle being operated by him was removed from the scene to be processed at a secondary location with the other involved vehicles.

Eaton was transported to Maine Medical Center where he was medically cleared and then transported to the Portland Police Department where an interview was conducted in which he confessed to killing his parents and their friends in Bowdoin and believed that the vehicles he had shot at on the interstate were police vehicles that were following him.

Autopsies conducted at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner's Office determined all four died of gunshot wounds and all were ruled as homicides.

Joseph Eaton had just been released from Windham Correctional Facility on Friday after serving a sentence for aggravated assault. Upon his release his mother met him at the prison and brought him to Bowdoin to stay with family friends the Egers.

If anyone has information regarding these incidents, please call the Augusta Regional Communications Center at 207.624.7076 Option number 9.