Maine husband who claimed he shot wife mistaking her for intruder was JUST '18 inches' away when he killed her
WINDHAM, MAINE: A husband who claimed that he shot his wife at point-blank range after mistaking her for an intruder had his web of lies unravelled as eagle-eyed investigators discovered the truth. Noah Gaston killed Alicia Gaston on the stairs of their home in the pre-dawn hours of January 14, 2016. He insisted that he fired the bullet at the 34-year-old since he thought she was a burglar, but cops soon found the loopholes in his story. The 36-year-old told investigators that the shooting was an accident, and said that after hearing noises coming from downstairs that sounded like walkie-talkies, he thought two burglars had broken in the house. Noah said that after checking on the children, he took his shotgun and saw a figure climbing up the stairs. He added that since it was dark, he could not recognize who that person was and pulled the trigger, without realizing it was Alicia.
During his trial, the court heard how Noah made a 911 call at around 6:17 am on January 14, 2016. He told the operator, “I just shot my wife in the stomach. I thought she was an intruder.” Help was immediately sent as they instructed him on how to do lifesaving CPR. However, despite all the efforts by the paramedics who arrived soon after, Alicia lost her life.
But the jurors also heard how the husband’s claims did not add up as when paramedics stopped efforts to revive the woman, Noah did not even ask them about her condition. Also he did not behave like a grieving husband as he had a blank expression, The Mirror reported. In addition, he also constantly changed his stories. Like initially he told investigators that Alicia was halfway up the stairs when he shot her, making her close enough for him to see.
Noah then changed his version and said his wife had only only climbed a couple of stairs at the bottom, making it difficult for him to identify her. He also claimed that he was not wearing his glasses when he shot Alicia with his 12-gauge shotgun, but that seemed unusual to cops as Noah had often driven without his glasses. Apart from these, the biggest issue that the cops had was why the husband had not checked next to him to see if Alicia was is bed.
Investigators also gently questioned the two oldest children of Alicia and found that the couple had an argument before the shooting. They said their parents had fought before too. Noah was charged with his wife’s death, a week after the shooting. He was charged with both manslaughter and murder. The prosecution said that the man had wanted to kill Alicia. “He saw in the illuminated bedroom that she wasn’t in the bed. He didn’t hear walkie-talkies or multiple intruders. He saw her as she entered the stairway, and he saw her when she was no more than 18 inches from the muzzle of his shotgun. This was a killing without justification,” the prosecution added.
Although no motive was given why Noah wanted his wife to die, Alicia’s sister testified about their financial issues and how the victim was thinking of a divorce. The trial in November 2019, lasted five days and Noah did not testify. After 12 hours of deliberation over three days, Noah was found guilty of the murder and in June 2020, he was awarded 40 years in jail. At the time, Alicia’s family said, “We feel as though the sentencing today was fair. We hope that we can now begin to grieve without the worry of justice for this horrific crime. We would also like to thank Michelle Cram, the victim’s advocate, for her support, the Maine State Police, especially Detective Ross and Detective Rose, and (prosecuting attorneys) Meg Elam and Paul Rucha for their pursuit of justice.”