A Salem man was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday for the 2012 shooting death of his wife. David Paul Eaton, 46, pleaded guilty last month to the murder of his estranged wife Elena Nikolaevna Lobodina Eaton, 31, who came to Oregon from Russia after the two met online. Marion County Circuit Judge Thomas Hart sentenced him to life in the Oregon Department of Corrections at a hearing Tuesday afternoon.
Marion County Sheriff’s deputies were called to the couple’s home on the 7500 block of Heckart Lane SE in Salem just before 1 p.m. Nov. 26, 2012. They found Elena Eaton dead of a gunshot wound. According to a probable cause statement, Eaton called 911 and said he had been arguing with his wife and shot her three or four times, “possibly in the head.” He told dispatchers that she came at him with a knife so he went to the bedroom to get a gun from under his pillow. He then confronted her and shot her.
In a later interview with detectives, Eaton admitted to arguing with his wife over their pending divorce and became enraged. He went for the gun under his bed where he placed it before she came over. He then confronted Elena Eaton, who was standing in the hallway, and he started shooting her from two to three feet away. He said he pointed the gun at her upper torso and shot her three or four times. After he called 911, he said, he retrieved a knife from a kitchen drawer, put it in the victim’s hand and made it look as if she had been grasping it.
Eaton also admitted to past incidents in which he planned on killing Elena Eaton, to include poisoning her, the document said. According to Lindsay Freedman, who helped represent Elena Eaton in her divorce as a Willamette Law Clinic Certified Law Student, Elena Eaton lived in Russia with her family when she met David Eaton online. He traveled to Russia to meet her, arranged for her fiance visa and brought her to America, where they got married.
Hart began the hearing with a word from the defendant, who entered the courtroom in shackles and a blue jail uniform. “I’m really sorry about what I did to Elena,” Eaton said. “I don’t know why I did it... doesn’t make it right.”
Hart presided over Eaton’s plea hearing March 17. “Things seem to be black and white with regards to where you were,” Hart said. “I commended you for taking responsibility for it. Doesn’t make it any better.”
“ ‘Thou shalt not kill’ goes back a long way.”
Eaton’s attorney Olcott Thompson said his client’s mental state played a role in the situation. “Black and white is a big part of Mr. Eaton’s Asperger’s disorder,” Thompson said.
The court heard testimony from two of Elena Eaton’s friends as well as a letter written by her father, Nikolai Lobodina, who lives in Russia, read by Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Gardiner. Lobodina’s letter spoke directly to Eaton, highlighting his grief for the loss of his daughter and that he didn’t understand how Eaton could have killed her.
“You spoiled your fate,” the letter said. Elena Eaton’s father thanked the friends she made while she lived in Oregon. One of her friends, Michele Painter, spoke to the court Tuesday. Painter told Eaton he was manipulative and said he threatened to order another bride from Russia after Elena.
“Remember the day you filed for divorce and you and I talked on the phone about it? Instead of talking about divorce, you were doing all you could to see her deported,” Painter said. “I said, ‘You can’t just make a person disappear, Dave.’ ”
Painter described Elena Eaton as a wonderful, “fun and simple and truly caring” person. “I thought once she got the legal help she needed, the truth would come out and she would be safe. But you stole that from us all,” Painter said. “You have made her disappear as you always wanted, but I will tell you, you did not win.”
Freedman said in court that Elena Eaton filed for a restraining order against her husband, but she ended up dropping it because she was terrified that Eaton would be present at the hearing. According to court records, Elena Eaton filed a restraining order in September 2011, which was dropped a year later, and November 2012 against her husband.
Freedman said that Elena Eaton had a huge capacity for forgiveness and attempted to remain friendly with her husband. “It was torture for us to watch Elena go through her daily life,” Freedman said. “Elena did not seem to see the violence that Mr. Eaton was capable of. She was like a sheep walking into the lion’s den.” Statesmanjournal.
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