A Connecticut man admitted Wednesday to viciously attacking and killing the mother of his child with an ax, despite her attempts to protect herself through the legal system.
Ewen Dewitt, 44, was sentenced to 40 years in prison as part of the deal, the Connecticut Post reported. He pleaded guilty to killing his ex-partner Julie Minogue in her Milford home in December 2022.
Minogue and Dewitt shared a 3-year-old son, who was standing next to Minogue when Dewitt attacked her with the ax, according to police. In the days and weeks before the murder, Minogue had obtained a protective order against Dewitt and reported him to police for texting her more than 200 times.
“In a civil court in front of a judge, with lawyers and others in attendance, she said, ‘He is going to kill me,’” Minogue’s father, Gerald, told News 12 Connecticut. “Unfortunately, Julie’s prediction was right.”
Dewitt had been expected to take a plea deal in October 2024 but rejected a 45-year prison sentence. Judge Kevin Russo lowered the proposed sentence to 40 years to spare Minogue’s family the agony of a trial, according to the CT Post.
Minogue’s older son, now 19, was also in the home at the time of the attack and was the one who called 911 to report the murder. He told cops he heard his mother scream and ran out of his room to see Dewitt standing over her body with a bloody ax. Dewitt later confessed to police.