‘He’s going to kill me’
Milford ax attack victim warned weeks before death, documents show
MILFORD — Police say a woman died in a suspected ax attack at a local condo complex Tuesday night weeks after court records show she wrote in a court filing that she was scared the man charged in her homicide was going to kill her.
In a Nov. 17 affidavit, Julie Minogue wrote that she had a restraining order against Ewen Dewitt, but he had been sending her hundreds of “harassing” text messages for days.”
“I don’t feel I should be subjected to this abuse any longer,” Minogue wrote in the filing. “I am scared for the safety of my children and I. Ewen has got himself into a lot of trouble with drugs and alcohol, and I’m scared he’s going to kill me.”
Milford police said Dewitt, 42, of Roxbury, was charged with murder, home invasion, risk of injury to a minor, criminal violation of a protective order and criminal violation of a restraining order. He was also charged with risk of injury to a child and reckless endangerment.
Court records show Minogue, 40, who police said also spells her name as Minogoe, obtained a restraining order against Dewitt just days before she was killed.
During his arraignment on Wednesday, Judge Auden Grogins set Dewitt’s bond at $5 million at the request of Assistant State’s Attorney Alanna Paul, who said during the proceeding that the Roxbury man had confessed to the crime since his arrest.
“There’s been more information provided in this case, mainly that the defendant has entered a full admission of this incident,” the prosecutor said. “Even without that, I would argue that the case against the defendant is very strong. There is surveillance footage. There is a 17-year-old witness to part of this incident. It is a very serious case and I think it warrants a very serious bond.”
Hearst Connecticut Media Group has obtained
Ring camera footage from a nearby condo at the Longmeadow complex showing a man carrying an ax around the time of the killing. In a probable cause report released Wednesday, police cite the footage, noting the person depicted matches Dewitt’s description.
In a statement, Milford police said Minogue’s 17year-old son called 911 at 9 p.m. Tuesday, “stating that his mother was being assaulted” by a man inside their home.
“The first arriving officers cleared the residence and discovered that the suspect had fled prior to their arrival. The victim was found deceased inside the home,” police said.
Police said Dewitt is believed to have used an ax during the attack, but the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will officially make that determination.
The first officer on the scene found Minogue lying in a pool of blood with “multiple critical lacerations to her face and skull,” according to the probable cause report.
Minogue’s younger child, 3, was found physically unharmed in the home but “appeared to be in shock,” according to the report, which said the 17-year-old had barricaded himself in a bedroom before jumping out of a window. Police said both children are now staying
with family members.
In an interview, the 17year-old told police he had been in bed when he heard a man screaming, then went downstairs and saw Dewitt standing over his mother with an ax in his hand and “blood all over,” after which he ran to call 911, the probable cause report stated.
Dewitt fled the scene, but was detained later by police in a trailer on Ocean Avenue in West Haven, the report stated. According to the probable cause report, Dewitt’s mother contacted police and said he had just called her and confessed to killing his girlfriend.
Milford police also arrested Dewitt on Nov. 9, 2019, in an incident in which Minogue was the victim on charges of second-degree assault, risk of injury to a child, disorderly conduct and third-degree criminal mischief. He was released after posting $20,000 bond and had pleaded not guilty to the charges in that case, which remains pending.
A bail commissioner said Dewitt was arrested in North Carolina in September and charged with assaulting a woman and intoxicated and disruptive behavior. He was sentenced to 75-day and 20-day sentences for those charges, respectively.
Dewitt’s lawyer, Deputy Assistant Public Defender Kevin Semataska, asked the judge to set bond at $500,000 with strict monitoring conditions for his release. He noted mental health concerns about his client, who he said is also a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps.
“The allegations here are extremely serious,” the judge said, later noting the case involves allegations of “a pattern of violating court orders.”
“Public safety is paramount here,” Grogins said before continuing the case to Dec. 14 and putting Dewitt on suicide watch at his lawyer’s request.
There have been 11 intimate partner homicides reported so far this year, and 16 were reported in 2021, according to Meghan Scanlon, president and CEO of the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, a coalition of agencies that provide support to victims.
The killing in Milford marks the third Connecticut domestic-related homicide in recent weeks. In Naugatuck, Christopher Francisquini has been charged in the Nov. 18 killing of his infant daughter and a married couple in Danbury died last week in a murder-suicide.
“The increase in violence is definitely there,” Scanlon said Wednesday. “The lethality of how the victims were killed is much higher.”
Scanlon said it is not uncommon for victims like Minogue to warn about being afraid in these types of situations, “especially when you’ve gotten to the point where you are seeking a protective order, and it does sound like he had a full protective order in place.”
“I think the biggest thing, again is, were there other violations? That’s something we don’t necessarily have the answer to at the moment,” she continued.
Bob Fiore, who lives nearby, said he first learned about the incident Tuesday night when another neighbor sent him a message on Facebook. He went outside, where he saw at least nine police officers gathered at the scene.
“It’s a little bit alarming,” Fiore said Wednesday morning.