South Berwick man told police he accidentally shot and killed girlfriend
Jeremiah Godfrey, 43, was arrested several days after 37-year-old Sherri Sweet died in the hospital from a gunshot wound to her head. He faces one count of murder and is currently being held in York County Jail without bail. He appeared in York County Superior Court for his initial appearance on Friday afternoon but was not yet required to enter a plea.
An affidavit for his arrest describes Godfrey telling investigators that he takes responsibility for pulling the trigger and firing a single shot that hit Sweet in the back of her head.
The two had gotten into an argument at their home on Brattle Street on Saturday evening when Godfrey went upstairs to retrieve his Glock pistol, which he told police he uses for protection from local wildlife like fisher cats and coyotes, according to court documents. He said he planned to go to an outbuilding on their property, where he "usually goes when he needs to leave the residence after an argument."
But before he could leave the house, Godfrey said, Sweet was walking down the stairs in front of him and turned around to grab the gun. He told investigators that she was facing him and that he didn't point the weapon at her, but said his finger was on the trigger when it went off.
"I just held onto it as she grabbed it and went to pull as she walked down the stairs," he said in a police interview, according to the affidavit written by Maine State Police detective Justin Huntley.
At various points in the interview, investigators noted that he described the shooting as a "bad mishap" on his behalf.
Godfrey's attorney did not return messages asking to discuss the case Friday afternoon.
When South Berwick police officers arrived at the scene, they found a small child lying on the living room couch and arranged for a family member to remove them from the house.
Sweet was brought to Portsmouth Regional Hospital where she died a day later. While she was on life support, detectives located a bullet fragment on the staircase. The autopsy, which was completed on Monday, determined her death to be the result of a homicide from a gunshot wound to the back of her head.
State police arrested Godfrey on Wednesday afternoon after requesting and obtaining a warrant that same day.
It's not clear why police did not immediately arrest Godfrey. A spokesperson for the Maine State Police had declined to provide further information about the investigation.
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