Killer unleashes explosive tirade in court as he's sentenced for girlfriend's brutal murder
A Connecticut man who killed his former girlfriend with an ax angrily shouted obscenities in court as he was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Ewen Dewitt, 45, killed Julie Minogue, 40, at her Milford home in December 2022 while two of her children slept inside, NBC News reported.
In March, Dewitt accepted a plea deal sentencing him to 40 years behind bars.
On Thursday, the court heard from Claud Chong, Dewitt's attorney, as he tried to explain Dewitt's reasoning behind the brutal killing.
'The combination of drinking, drug use, depression, PTSD, he lost control, and he acted impulsively in rage and anger which we all agree is unacceptable behavior,' Chong said.
'However, I stand here today your honor, not to offer an excuse for Mr. Dewitt but an explanation.'
When the word 'impulsive' was used to describe his actions, State Attorney Margaret Kelley quickly stepped in to clarify for the record that the murder was intentional.
But before Kelley could finish her sentence, Dewitt seemingly became enraged and unleashed an outburst in the courtroom.
'This was cold, calculated, well thought-out, to the extent...' Kelley began, before rustling and commotion from officers could be heard in the background.
In courtroom footage, officers can be seen racing towards Dewitt as several stern voices are heard shouting: 'Sit down.'
One officer held Dewitt's shoulders and two others stood closely behind him. 'Watch your mouth,' one female officer warned as the judge interrupted the courtroom.
'Mr Dewitt, I understand what you may be going through but I just have to remind you, this is an orderly place,' the judge said.
'If outbursts like that continue, I'm left with no other choice but to ask you, to remove you from the court.'
In response, seemingly unbothered as he rolled his eyes, Dewitt said: 'That'd be great.'
The judge said the sentencing would continue, asking Dewitt to remain calm - while Dewitt rested his forehead in his folded hands.
In November 2019, Gilford police arrested Dewitt after he was suspected of assaulting Minogue, resulting in a order of protection.
Then, on December 1, 2022, police said Minogue was granted a full no-contact restraining order after reporting that Dewitt had been sending her hundreds of harassing text messages, NBC reported.
Documents obtained by the outlet revealed that the 40-year-old mother-of-three told police she was afraid he was going to kill her.
Just five days later, Minogue was found dead inside her home. She had been killed with an ax while her then-three-year-old and 17-year-old children were inside.
According to the police department's initial statement on the homicide, it was her then-17-year-old son who called 911 to report that Dewitt had attacked and killed his mother with an ax, Law and Crime reported.
Minogue's then-3-year-old son was also in the home at the time and witnessed the attack, confirmed by Michael Rosnick, the family's attorney in the civil case, to the outlet.
Dewitt later confessed to the killing and was charged with murder, risk of injury to a child, home invasion, criminal violation of a restraining order and violation of a protective order.
He was expected to accept a plea deal in October of 2024, but rejected the proposed 45-year-prison sentence.
In March, the sentence was reduced to 40 years to spare Minogue's family the pain of going through a trial, Daily News reported.
However, Minogue's family was present at Thursday's hearing, where they had the chance to speak in court for the first time since their loved one's brutal murder.
Allison Barotti-Corcoran, Minogue's sister, was the first to speak, describing the night of December 6 as one that will 'haunt my family forever', as reported by NBC.
'I wish I could convey the heartbreak that we continue to experience and relive everyday,' she said, recalling her sister's murder as horrific and disgusting.
'I often lie awake at night, thinking about the last few moments and what they must have been like,' she added. I can't imagine the fear and the pain in those last moments of her life.'
Sandra Toepper, Minogue's mother, spoke through tears as she described the immense grief her family has endured since the fateful night.
'He denied me and my family the right to see my daughter even before the funeral because he mutilated her, we couldn't even see her or say goodbye to her,' she said.
'Our lives will never be the same because of him. My wish is he gets what he deserves, I hope he rots in hell.'
Minogue's then-3-year-old son was also in the home at the time and witnessed the attack
Nicholas Minogue, the eldest son, spoke directly to Dewitt during his impact statement.
'Ewen, you are a disgusting coward, you took the life of our mother, a strong beautiful woman who raised 3 boys on her own,' he said. 'A woman who couldn't defend herself, a woman who was 100 times the person you will ever be.'
'You didn't just kill our mom, you exposed the kind of pathetic, hollow, excuse of a human being you are, a failure of a man, a failure of a father, a failure of a brother, but most of all failure at life,' he added.
'After all your failures you find yourself here, all you have now is this courtroom, this shame, the sentence, it's all you deserve.'
Minogue's father, Gerald, has attended every single court proceeding in his daughter's case. On Thursday, he was the last family member to speak in court.
'I'm relieved in a sense that these proceedings are concluding however I will always carry the weight of the horrible thought of the pain, horror and fear my daughter experienced in those last moments of her life attacked viciously by an axe by an evil monster,' he said.
According to court documents, Dewitt pleaded guilty to two charges.
On Thursday, he was sentenced to 40 years for murder and 10 years for risk of injury to a minor, with both sentences to be served concurrently.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
19 minutes ago
- BBC News
Sean Brown witness speaks about suspect sighting for first time
An eyewitness in the Sean Brown case said he was "baffled" that a female suspect he picked out of an identity parade shortly after the murder was released without Brown, 61, was abducted by the Loyalist Volunteer Force at a GAA club in Bellaghy, County Londonderry, and shot dead near Randalstown, County Antrim, in eyewitness, who is speaking publicly for the first time, saw the woman with two men in a car at the club the night before the murder in what is suspected to have been a scouting Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said the Brown family had too many unanswered questions and those questions were "valid". In 2024 a court heard more than 25 people, including state agents, had been linked by intelligence to Mr Brown's information the eyewitness provided about the woman and the car, a white Vauxhall Nova, was central to a fresh PSNI probe and BBC Crimewatch appeal in BBC is calling the witness John to disguise his identity because of his fear of told Spotlight what happened the night before the murder of Mr Brown, who was chairman of the Bellaghy club."I was the last one going out. Sean was still there to lock up," he said."I just thought it was just someone turning at the front of the club."The lady that was driving the car stared me straight in the face."There was two men and they were hiding their faces." John told the Spotlight programme, Murder Without Answers, that he took his information to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) shortly after Mr Brown's helped compile a photofit and was then brought to Belfast to an identity parade."I picked her out right away. I seen the same face right away," he said."The woman constable was standing beside me, and she says, yes we have her."John said that after the identity parade he was shocked when the woman he picked out and other suspects were released."I went home and kept listening to the radio, watching TV and a couple of days later these people were let out without charge," he said."It left me baffled. I'm still thinking – why?"A Police Ombudsman examination of the case in 2004 found the original RUC investigation was "incomplete and inadequate".It has since emerged some intelligence information was not provided to the ombudsman at the time. No-one has ever been charged over Mr Brown's murder and it is now known that intelligence was withheld from detectives in both the original RUC probe and the re-investigation by the a statement to Spotlight, the PSNI said Mr Brown was a "pillar of the community" and his family had a right to know what added that it had previously apologised to the Brown family for failings in the RUC investigation and was sorry for what was discovered during new Brown's daughter Clare Loughran told Spotlight that receiving information about state agents last year confirmed her family's suspicions."I felt physically sick," she said."The wave of emotion was incredible. It was very, very difficult to hear." Her sister Siobhán Brown said it prompted further questions:"You'd wonder why first of all, how long has this been planned for. What or who was involved?" she said."Who gave the order from on high to say Sean Brown has to be taken out?"The Brown family have long campaigned for a public inquiry into the government has appealed a court ruling that found it should hold a public inquiry, arguing it was not an issue which the courts should also believes the implications of the court ruling would go beyond the Brown Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said he expressed his deepest sympathy to the Brown family for the many years they have waited for said he intended to ensure the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR), established under the Legacy Act, would be able to carry out an investigation comparable to a public some victims' families say the ICRIR does not have the powers to investigate such ICRIR told Spotlight that proposed legislative reforms could result in it being able to have human rights compliant hearings led by an independent judge.
Reuters
44 minutes ago
- Reuters
Erin Patterson: Australian accused in mushroom murders disputes accounts of fatal lunch
SYDNEY, June 10 (Reuters) - An Australian woman accused of the murder of three elderly relatives of her estranged husband by feeding them poisonous mushrooms disputed on Tuesday accounts of the fatal lunch given by other witnesses, a court heard. Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with the July 2023 murders of her mother-in-law Gail Patterson, father-in-law Donald Patterson and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, along with the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, Heather's husband. The prosecution accuses her of knowingly serving the guests the death caps as part of a Beef Wellington at her home in Leongatha, a town of about 6,000 people some 135 km (84 miles) from Melbourne. She denies the charges, which carry a life sentence, with her defence calling the deaths a "terrible accident". On Patterson's third day of cross-examination, prosecution lawyer Nanette Rogers asked whether she had lied about serving herself on a plate of a different colour from those of her guests, which the prosecution says she did to avoid the poison. "I suggest that this description that you gave to the jury of the plates you used at the lunch is a lie. Correct or incorrect?" Rogers said. "Incorrect," the accused replied. In his evidence, Ian Wilkinson, the sole surviving guest from the lunch, whose recovery took months in hospital, had said Patterson served herself on a plate of a different colour. Patterson's estranged husband, Simon Patterson, previously testified that Heather Wilkinson had remarked on the different coloured plates before she died. Erin Patterson also disputed an account by her son, who said in his evidence he had not seen her repeatedly visit the bathroom as a result of also becoming sick after the meal. The defence's decision to call Erin Patterson as a witness has re-ignited interest in the trial that began in late April. Media have descended on the town of Morwell where the trial is being held, about two hours east of Melbourne. State broadcaster ABC's daily podcast on the trial is currently Australia's most popular, while many domestic newspapers have run live blogs. Patterson is currently in her sixth day of giving evidence and her third day of cross-examination by Rogers. The prosecution rested its case on June 2 after a month of evidence from relatives and medical, forensic and mushroom experts. The trial, expected to conclude this month, continues.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Anthony Albanese calls rubber bullet shooting of Australian journalist in LA 'horrific'– video
'That footage was horrific,' prime minister Anthony Albanese said the day after an Australian journalist was shot by a rubber bullet while covering the LA protests. Albanese said the government had already raised the issue with the Trump administration
