The full affidavit detailing the grisly crimes of confessed Bowdoin shooter Joseph Michael Eaton was made available Thursday morning at the Sagadahoc District Court House in West Bath.
In addition to the new details in the affidavit, a Maine Wire investigation has determined that the video Eaton live streamed to Facebook on Monday at 2:00 pm — the day prior to his arrest — was likely filmed in the parking lot of a strip mall in Lisbon Falls. In the background of the video, you can see what appears to be a “Verizon Wireless” logo that we have narrowed down to that store.
According to the affidavit, law enforcement believes Robert Eager, Patricia Eger, David Eaton, and Cynthia Eaton were slain on Monday, April 17. Based on the weather that day, and the fact that it’s raining hard in the video Eaton posted, the video was more likely than not filmed after he had murdered four people. It’s unclear where he spent the intervening hours before he opened fire on I-295 and was subsequently arrested — or who he might have contacted.
We have also learned that Eaton was arrested for aggravated assault involving law enforcement in Florida in 2018 and sentenced to three years incarceration. Those charges also included possession of a firearm by a violent felon. He was released in 2021 and, less than a year later, he was arrested in Maine for aggravated assault. He was released after two years on April 14.
New details from the affidavit:
- All four victims had been “covered up” by the time law enforcement arrived
- Officers found that Eaton also killed the Egers dog
- Lisa Shea, the sister of Patti Eger, discovered the slain victims
- The residence was riddled with bullet holes and there were “several firearms laying out”
- Eaton left a note on the kitchen counter. “The note mentioned someone being freed of pain.”
- The note, similar to Eaton’s Facebook video, mentioned someone being the victim of “molestation”
- The vehicle Eaton drove to I-295 was a Hertz rental car; he was seen standing in the interstate waving his hands, bloody
- A witness saw Eaton on Exit Ramp 15 wielding a handgun
- A law enforcement officer observed bullet holes of different calibers in the windshield of the rental car
- Eaton admitted to four murders and the additional shootings immediately upon being detained
Read the full affidavit here:
Here’s the video Eaton posted:
Eaton posted the video to Facebook on Monday around 2:00 pm. The video is listed as a livestream, so it was published at the same time he recorded it. A review of the images that can be seen in the background suggests it was filmed in the parking lot of a strip mall with a Verizon Wireless location with a black-lettered logo. The only Verizon shop in the area with a black-lettered logo is the location in Lisbon Falls.
Here’s a clip from the video:
Here’s a shot of the Lisbon Falls location:
