'I just shot my wife in the stomach': Harrowing 911 call of man who opened fire on the mother of his children after 'mistaking her for an intruder' Noah Gaston, 36, is accused of murdering his wife Alicia, 34, in Maine in 2016 Alicia was shot dead and found at the bottom of their staircase in their home Her husband called 911 at 6.17am to say he thought she was an intruder He said he woke up to sounds downstairs and had checked on their kids when he opened fire on her as she walked up the stairs The couple had been having financial problems at the time, according to the victim's sister Gaston cried on Monday as the 911 call was played at his murder trial By Jennifer Smith For Dailymail.com Published: 21:52 GMT, 12 February 2019 | Updated: 23:51 GMT, 12 February 2019 6 Viewcomments The harrowing 911 call of a husband who shot his wife dead in Maine in 2016 was played at his murder trial on Monday and reveals how he told operators that he thought she was an intruder. Noah Gaston, 36, is on trial for the death of his wife Alicia, who he shot dead in their home in January 2016 He claims that he thought she was an intruder and that he had gone to check on his three children in their beds after waking up in his bedroom to the sound of what he thought were walkie-talkies. Noah Gaston, 36, is on trial for the death of his wife Alicia, who he shot dead in their home in January 2016 Prosecutors say he killed her intentionally but they have not yet offered a motive. The victim's sister testified that they were having financial troubles at the time of the killing and that her sister homeschooled her children and sold scarves to make extra money. Her brother-in-law had recently left a cooking job at the time. She was shot as she made her way up the stairs, he said, but it is not clear how far she had gotten when she was struck. In an initial interview, he said she was half-way up but his story changed later so say she was only a few steps up when he pulled the trigger. In his 911 call after shooting her, he told the operator: 'I just shot my wife in the stomach. I thought she was an intruder.' The call was placed at 6.17am. On Tuesday, Gaston wept as it was replayed at his trial. After telling the operator what he had done, he listened as they gave him instructions on how to perform CPR and can be heard counting 'one, two, three, four' as he performed chest compressions on her. Defense attorney Rob Andrews said he made a 'terrible mistake'. 'He caused a terrible accident, and there is no way that this is anything other than a tragedy. The mother-of-three had been downstairs in their family home and was climbing up the stairs when she was shot in the stomach by her husband Gaston, pictured in court in 2016, claims he thought his wife was an intruder 'But it’s not a crime,' he told the courtroom, according to The Press Herald. The jury was also shown photographs of the bloody stairwell where she was shot. The father-of-three had recently left a cooking job when he shot his wife and his sister-in-law says the pair were having financial difficulty There an EBT card found at the top of the staircase and a coffee in the living room which had fresh ice cubes in it. Prosecutors have rejected his claim that he thought she was an intruder. Assistant Attorney General Meg Elam said he knew that he was shooting her when he pulled the trigger and that he knew she would likely die as a result. '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,' she said. Once police and paramedics arrived at the home, the man was briefly interviewed in the family's kitchen where he showed 'little emotion', prosecutors said. 'When he entered the room, he had no emotion on his face, just a blank look,' Windham police Officer Justin Hudnor testified. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility