A man who confessed to killing his parents and their two friends before going on a random shooting spree on a Maine interstate last year has pleaded guilty to more than a dozen charges, including murder, and was sentenced to life in prison on Monday.
Joseph Eaton, 35, pleaded guilty on Monday to intentional or knowing murder, aggravated attempted murde,r and additional charges of theft and cruelty to animals in Sagadahoc County Superior Court. Eaton received the maximum penalty for each charge, including life sentences for each of the murders.
Authorities said Eaton had confessed to killing his parents and two of their friends in a Portland-area home in April 2023. He then fled to Interstate 295 in Yarmouth — a town about 12 miles northeast of Portland — and fired at passing vehicles, injuring three members of an area family.
Although authorities have not released any motives on the shootings, Eaton and his attorney agreed with some family members and friends of victims who testified that the 35-year-old should be punished to the fullest extent of the law, WGME-TV reported.
“I wake up every day regretting what I did,” Eaton said in court Monday, according to WGME-TV. “A life sentence is what I deserve and honestly, I think I deserve worse. All I can say is, I’m sorry.”
Eaton initially pleaded not guilty and entered an insanity plea in July 2023 but withdrew the plea last December, according to court documents. Eaton told the Portland Press Herald in interviews last…
