A man who confessed to killing his parents and two of their friends and wounding three people in a highway shooting has been sentenced to life in prison
WEST BATH, Maine (AP) — A man who confessed to killing his parents and two of their friends and wounding three people in a highway shooting pleaded guilty to murder and other charges on Monday, and a judge sentenced him to the maximum term of life in prison.
Joseph Eaton never provided a reason to law enforcement officials for the violent crimes he admitted committing in Maine last year, and he had no explanation for the victims' families and friends who spoke in court.
Through written testimony read aloud, a woman described the horrific scene of blood and broken glass that confronted her in April 2023 when she found one of the bodies of Eaton's victims. In a similar written statement, the father of one of three people wounded by bullets that Eaton fired on a highway spoke of his terror that day that his daughter would bleed out in his arms. She ultimately survived. Evangeline Kensell said she was driving to visit her mother who had had a stroke when her car was struck by 13 bullets. Others said they experienced sleepless nights and nightmares as a result of Eaton's actions.
“He killed the only four people in this world who actually loved and cared for him,” said a distraught Kristina DeRaps, who is married to a nephew of one of the victims, Patti Eger. DeRaps called Eaton “a selfish little boy.”