A man named Joseph Eaton has been handed the maximum life sentence after confessing to the highway shooting that killed his parents and two of their friends while wounding three more.
Members of the victim’s family and friends spoke on behalf of them, providing impact statements. Eaton offered no explanation or justification for the heinous acts he confessed to conducting in Maine last year.
The awful image of blood and shattered glass that a witness encountered in April 2023 when she discovered the body of one of Eaton’s victims was recounted in written evidence that was read aloud. One of the three victims hit by Eaton’s shots on the roadway was a father who recounted his fear that his daughter might bleed to death while he held her in his arms. Ultimately, she managed to survive the gunmen’s bullets that day.
According to Evangeline Kensell, thirteen gunshots struck her automobile as she was making her way to see her mother, who had suffered a stroke. Some claimed that Eaton’s behavior caused them nightmares and restless nights.
Patti Eger’s niece, Kristina DeRaps, who is upset over the loss of a loved one, referred to Eaton as “a selfish little boy.”
For most of the testimony, Eaton glanced downward at the defense table. He expressed his continued amazement at his conduct when he spoke in court, saying that every morning, he finds himself regretting his actions. He said he truly believes he deserves a worse sentence than life in prison. He said all he could say was, “I’m sorry.”
An investigation by law enforcement led to the confession of Eaton, 35 years old, who admitted to murdering his parents at their house in the tiny hamlet of Bowdoin.
He admitted to firing shots at passing cars near Yarmouth on Interstate 295.
It was Maine’s deadliest mass shooting.
