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KEY POINTS
- A 42-year-old man was arrested for allegedly killing his ex-girlfriend
- The woman was granted a restraining order against her ex just days before her death
- The woman’s 17-year-old son witnessed the attack
A 42-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly killing a mother of three using an ax in Connecticut Tuesday in an attack witnessed by the woman’s teenage son.
Ewen Dewitt, of Roxbury, was charged with murder, risk of injury and reckless endangerment in connection with the death of his ex-girlfriend, according to the Milford Police Department. Fox 61 identified the victim as 40-year-old Julie Minogue.
Dewitt was also charged with violation of a protection order and a restraining order. The latter was granted just five days before Minogue’s death, authorities said.
Police said they received a 911 call Tuesday from the victim’s 17-year-old son, who reported that his mother was being assaulted by a man inside their home.
The teen was woken up by screams and went downstairs, where he thought he heard Dewitt yelling, “You didn’t believe me,” Fox 61 reported, citing court documents.
The teen allegedly saw Dewitt holding an ax and his mother on the floor, covered in blood, according to the documents.
The teen immediately ran back upstairs and called 911. After making the call, he jumped out of his bedroom window, where he was met by police, the report said.
When responding officers entered the home, they found the body of Minogue on the kitchen floor surrounded by blood. A large ax was also recovered from the scene, Oxygen reported.
Aside from the teen, the victim’s 3-year-old son was also inside the house during the incident but was unharmed. The two kids are now in the custody of family members.
Dewitt fled the scene before police arrived. But authorities tracked him down and arrested him in West Haven.
Before his arrest, Dewitt’s mother informed authorities that her son called her and claimed that he “killed his girlfriend,” News 8 reported.
Before her death, Minogue claimed she feared Dewitt would kill her, according to an affidavit obtained by CT Post.
“I don’t feel I should be subjected to this abuse any longer,” she allegedly wrote in the restraining order she was granted on Dec. 1, according to the outlet.
Police said Dewitt had sent several harassing text messages to Minogue in the days leading up to the filing.
Minogue also had protective orders against Dewitt for previous domestic violence incidents, Fox 61 reported. One was issued in January 2021 and also protected children present at the time of the incident.
The victim’s teen son told police that in 2019, a drunk Dewitt got into a fight with his mother. Dewitt allegedly threw an object at her head, and she began bleeding, according to the probable cause statement obtained by the outlet.
Dewitt was arraigned at the Connecticut Superior Court in Milford Wednesday and is being held on a $5 million bond. It was not clear if the suspect had entered a plea or retained an attorney to comment on his behalf as of writing.
