'I can't believe I did this': Boyfriend who said shooting death of girlfriend was accidental had hurt her before, police say

Grim caller details person been revealed successful a lawsuit retired of Maine wherever a antheral is charged with killing his woman with a slug to her chest, according to instrumentality enforcement successful the Pine Tree State.

Austin Doucette, 24, stands accused of murder over the decease of 23-year-old Mikayla Rose DeSantis, according to the Maine State Police.

The underlying incidental occurred astatine the Left Bank condominiums successful Carrabassett Valley, a tiny municipality immoderate 120 miles northbound of Portland.

On March 8, DeSantis was changeable and airlifted to Maine Medical Center successful Portland, wherever she succumbed to her injuries.

Doucette made aggregate frantic and "very hysterical" 911 calls that night, constabulary said, portion initially transporting the unfortunate successful his ain conveyance earlier gathering up with paramedics. The suspect repeatedly made exclamations astir his relation successful the shooting, expressing daze and fearfulness portion insisting the gunfire was accidental.

"I can't judge I did this," the caller said astatine 1 point, constabulary claim. Then, Doucette allegedly told the dying woman, "I'm atrocious babe."

Now, authorities are alleging a darker broadside to the couple's relationship, according to hunt warrants obtained by the Bangor Daily News.

Both the slain pistillate and the suspect worked unneurotic astatine the Sugarloaf Mountain skis edifice successful Carrabassett Valley. They hailed from Connecticut and had been dating since 2018, according to instrumentality enforcement. The brace moved to Maine successful 2024.

After the woman's death, aggregate friends, family, and co-workers told constabulary that Doucette had a inclination to berate and belittle DeSantis, according to the tribunal documents.

One co-worker astatine the skis edifice said Doucette would nonstop DeSantis derogatory messages and endanger to enactment his hands connected her, according to the warrants. Another co-worker described the suspect arsenic verbally and emotionally abusive to the victim. The 2nd co-worker besides said they saw Doucette shove DeSantis twice, but that the pistillate had minimized those carnal interactions, constabulary said.

The 2nd co-worker's communicative tracks with claims made by a manager astatine the skis edifice who said DeSantis revealed that Doucette erstwhile grabbed her limb portion she was leaving for enactment but that she "downplayed" the incident. In February, DeSantis allegedly asked her manager if she could enactment each time Doucette did not enactment due to the fact that she did not privation to beryllium location with him, according to the warrants.

Police besides allege the unfortunate would wage disconnected the defendant's recognition paper measure — leaving her with nary wealth near over.

Another 911 telephone was made connected the nighttime of the incidental by the defendant's father's girlfriend, Law&Crime antecedently reported.

During the call, the father's woman allegedly said she heard the suspect uncover helium was being chased by the cops, that thing had happened to DeSantis, and that helium was going to termination himself. Doucette's begetter told him not to bash it, the pistillate said, earlier hanging up upon learning that the suspect had been stopped by constabulary portion she was connected the line.

Inside the defendant's car, Carrabassett Valley constabulary officers recovered reddish-brown stains successful the backmost seat, on with a receipt and a cellphone, according to instrumentality enforcement. Doucette aboriginal said the telephone apt belonged to DeSantis.

During a custodial interrogation with authorities police, the suspect said the unfortunate was his girlfriend, reiterated his assertion that the unit was accidental, and told constabulary the weapon progressive successful the shooting was inactive connected the sofa successful the condo, according to charging documents obtained by Bangor-based CBS affiliate WABI. But then, Doucette invoked his close to stay soundless until conferring with an attorney, constabulary say.

A paramedic aboriginal told detectives astir the archetypal gathering with the couple, saying the fellow described a .45-caliber weapon going off, according to an affidavit obtained by WABI.

At the 2nd hospital, a authorities constabulary detective told different researcher DeSantis was successful country for what appeared to beryllium a gunshot coiled to the chest, but that she had mislaid a batch of humor and was improbable to survive, according to the affidavit. Later, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner performed an autopsy and ruled DeSantis's decease was caused by aggregate gunshot wounds, constabulary said. Authorities aboriginal clarified to accidental DeSantis died from a lone gunshot wound.