The man who is accused of killing four people, including his parents, then shooting at motorists on Interstate 295 in April has withdrawn his insanity plea, the Portland Press Herald reported.
Joseph Eaton, 34, was indicted in June on multiple murder charges for the shooting deaths of his parents and two of their friends at Eaton’s parents’ home in Bowdoin. He is also facing charges relating to allegations that after killing the four people, he shot at several cars while driving on Interstate 295 in Yarmouth, injuring three people.
At the time, Eaton had just finished serving a five-year prison sentence for charging at Florida police officers with a bat. He got out three days before the shooting spree.
In a series of interviews from jail with the Press Herald after his arrest, Eaton confessed to killing his parents and their two friends but spoke affectionately of them and described watching himself commit the acts as though from outside of himself. Moments before killing his parents, he said he experienced a “psychotic break,” and during the killings he said “nothing felt real.”
Eaton’s criminal record before the shootings dates back to 2013. He has been charged with 15 different crimes before his extended prison term. Reporting by the Press Herald uncovered a long history of drug abuse, mental health problems and violent tendencies. Eaton spoke of childhood trauma including sexual abuse at the hands of multiple adults and said he spent two years of his five-year prison term in solitary confinement.
According to the court documents filed Dec. 8, Eaton is withdrawing his insanity plea but retaining his not guilty plea, the Press Herald reported.
