According to conflicting reports Ewen began to consume alcohol excessively either at the age of twelve[6] or eighteen, animated by one of his sisters' boyfriends, whom he admired for his rather wasteful lifestyle.

As a youth he was arrested for theft, fraud,[5] and battery, and starting in 1982 he was caught numerous times while driving under the influence of alcohol, which resulted in a three-month prison term when he was 26.

Six months later Ewen, whilst drunk, twice broke into a home for mentally disabled women and sexually molested them in their beds.

He remained in remand until January 1999, when he was acquitted, since no incriminating evidence could be found and the testimony of Fisne, the only witness in the case, was vague and contradictory.

Ewen eventually found shelter at the home of his sister and brother-in-law in Beckingen where he lived up to the day of the shooting and helped renovate the building.