PORTLAND, Maine — Witness testimony and forensic evidence presented in day two of Noah Gaston’s murder trial sheds new light on what happened the morning he fatally shot his wife in their Windham home.
Evidence tapes played for jurors shows Gaston recounting the moments leading up to when he pulled the trigger, killing his wife Alicia Gaston, that January morning back in 2016.
In addition to those tapes, the man who picked up Noah from the police station after he was questioned by police, shared "WTF" moments he encountered on the drive home with Noah. He claims right after Gaston told them what happened the morning he shot and killed his wife, Noah added he "had to tell that story if he wanted to see his kids again". However, the man says when they asked Gaston if there was another story to tell, he replied "no".
Jurors also heard testimony from the expert witness whose sudden change in his expert opinion, moments before he was set to testify, ultimately delayed Gaston's first trial earlier this year. It caused a judge to declare a mistrial only days into the trial in February.
However, when he took the stand Thursday, Dr. Flomenbaum testified he has always believed the gun shoot wound that killed Alicia Gaston hit her stomach at a downward angle. At a 30-degree angle, to be exact.
These autopsy findings are crucial in determining how far away Gaston was from his wife Alicia when he shot and killed her.
Dr. Flomenbaum testified his autopsy findings, such as the size of the gun shot wound, buckshot spatter and a plastic cup from the shotgun shell that was lodged inside Alicia's body, usually occur when a person is close to the object they are shooting. Pointing to prosecutors’ theory that Noah was no more than 18 inches away from his wife when he shot her.
It leads to a question people have been asking since Alicia's death: how did Gaston not realize the person coming up the stairs was his wife?
Gaston stands by his original recollection of the night, that he believed an intruder had entered his home and he didn't realize he had shot his wife until it was too late.
In evidence tapes shown Thursday, Noah told police he shot at Alicia when she started making her way up the stairs, saying she wasn’t too far from him when it happened but her head was down and he wasn’t wearing his glasses.
One police detective who testified drew attention to the fact Gaston was not legally required to wear his glasses while driving. Drawing questions around how not wearing his glasses would impact his ability to see his wife.
The detective also testified she and another detective reconstructed the different lighting scenarios that could have occurred the morning Alicia was shot.
Shortly after Alicia was killed, the detectives would try different lighting scenarios in five minute increments. She said during every possibility they tried, even with complete darkness other than the light from the floodlight outside, she could make out who was in front of her coming up the stairs.
The tapes also showed Gaston telling police about his childhood homes being broken into. He claimed those memories heightened his fear when he thought he heard rumblings from walkie-talkies and other strange noises downstairs.
Gaston said he is normally a heavy sleeper but the morning he fatally shot his wife, he was woken easily due to financial stress.
In opening statements on Thursday, prosecutors said blood was found at the top of the stairs and smeared along the wall. Alicia's EBT card was also found at the top of the stairs however, Gaston stood by his original statement that Alicia was towards the bottom or middle of the staircase.
