The trial of a Windham man who claims he shot his wife in the hallway of their home because she thought she was an intruder is set to begin Monday in Portland Superior Court.
Noah Gaston, 36, is charged with one count of Class A intentional or knowing murder and, as an alternative, one count of Class A manslaughter in the Jan. 14, 2016, shooting death of 34-year-old Alicia Gaston at their home on Brookhaven Drive in Windham.
But prosecutors said evidence contradicts Noah Gaston’s story.
Gaston called 911 at about 6:17 a.m. the day of the shooting and reported that he had accidentally shot his wife with a 12-gauge shotgun as she started up the staircase to the second floor, having mistaken her for an intruder, according to court documents.
The couple’s three young children were home at the time, according to police reports and court documents
[Affidavit contradicts Windham man’s account of shooting his wife]
Gaston told police he got out of bed when he heard noises downstairs and, after checking on his children, heard what sounded like “walkie-talkies and things moving downstairs.” He said he loaded a shotgun and went to the top of the stairs.
Investigators said Gaston told them various versions of what happened next, including that his wife had just started up the stairs and was halfway up the stairs when he shot her, court records state.
But Maine State Police detective Ethel Ross wrote in an affidavit that evidence, including gunshot residue and blood spatter, “shows that she was standing somewhere between the first and second step down from the top of the landing area of the stairs when she was shot.”
The affidavit included information from interviews with the couple’s friends. The information paints a portrait of a family under financial stress that included two daughters, ages 8 and 9, and a 2-year-old son.
Neither Noah Gaston nor Alicia Gaston, who homeschooled the older children, were working at the time of her death, friends told investigators. He reportedly talked of starting a commune of artists so he could devote more time to his music.
Noah Gaston’s version of his marriage and events the morning of the shooting differed from one daughter’s memories as described in the affidavit. Gaston reportedly told Ross that he and his wife did not argue or fight.
He also said “they had a great marriage and it would be excellent if they did not have financial stress.”
But when the detective asked the 8-year-old girl about how often she heard her parents yelling as she said she did on Jan. 14, 2016, the girl said: “Sometimes you hear it seven times a week, and sometimes you hear it once, or one time a month.”
Interviewed the day after her mother died, the girl told the detective that the morning of the shooting she had heard her parents yelling in “their scared voices.”
[Affidavit: Husband accused of killing wife says he thought she was an intruder]
During a hearing in January, attorney Rob Andrews, who represents Gaston, asked a judge not to allow jury members to hear statements Gaston made after the shooting to friends they described as church elders.
One of the friends described Gaston as “very calm,” and said he was talking about lyrics to a song he had written the previous day that included a reference to a “bang” and children plugging their ears.
In a deposition, the owner of the house said an outside light in a tree in the yard, that can’t be switched off at night, lights up the master bedroom, landing and stairway.
The owner, a friend of Noah Gaston’s, also told prosecutors that Gaston told him his vision was sufficient that he could drive without glasses.
If convicted, Gaston faces between 25 years and life in prison.
Jury selection is set to begin Friday morning.
BDN writer Judy Harrison contributed to this report.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence and would like to talk with an advocate, call 866-834-4357, TRS 800-787-3224. This free, confidential service is available 24/7 and is accessible from anywhere in Maine.