A Connecticut man had an outburst just before being sentenced to decades in prison for murdering his ex-girlfriend with an axe.
Ewen Dewitt pleaded guilty to murder and endangering a child in Julie Minogue’s 2022 death at her Milford home. He appeared before a judge on Thursday to learn his fate. Dewitt, 45, appeared to become agitated as prosecutor Margaret Kelly addressed the court.
WVIT, a New Haven NBC affiliate, posted video of the incident, showing court deputies converge on Dewitt as he appears to stand.
“Sit down,” said the deputies.
The TV station bleeped out Dewitt’s expletive-laden rant.
According to ABC affiliate WTNH, Dewitt was listening to Kelly describe the murder as “cold, calculated” when he interrupted to say, in part, “rot in hell,” before being told by the court to “watch your mouth.”
“Mr. Dewitt, I understand what you may be going through but I just have to remind you, this is an orderly place,” the lawyer for the judge replied. “If outbursts like that continue, I’m left with no other choice but to ask you, to remove you from the court.”
“That would be fantastic,” Dewitt replied.
However, the judge continued the hearing with Dewitt present after the axe murderer, who was surrounded by deputies, calmed down. According to CT Insider, Dewitt apologized in court for his actions, stating that he “snapped.”
Minogue’s family was simply relieved that the criminal case was finally over.
“As the victim’s family, we’re very happy that we’ve reached the end of the criminal proceedings,” her father, Gerald Minogue, told WVIT.
“The pain will not go away, by no stretch,” said the physician.
In addition to the criminal charges, Minogue’s family has filed a lawsuit against Milford police and the city, as previously reported by Law&Crime.
According to the Milford Police Department’s initial statement on the brutal homicide, Minogue’s 17-year-old son called 911 on the night of December 6, 2022, to report that Ewen Dewitt had assaulted and killed his mother with an axe. Michael Rosnick, the family’s attorney in the civil case, confirmed to Law&Crime that the mother’s 3-year-old son was present and witnessed the attack.
The slaying happened five days after Minogue was “granted a full no contact Restraining Order against the suspect following a complaint that the suspect sent her harassing text messages,” the Milford Police Department stated. The department later stated that Dewitt sent 200 texts in two days in November 2022.
Dewitt, of Roxbury, was apprehended in a trailer in West Haven hours after the murder, police said. He was charged with murder, home invasion, criminal violation of a standing protective order, criminal violation of a restraining order, and endangering a child, all of which are felonies.
According to Connecticut court records, the defendant is also facing a harassment case for his alleged actions in November 2022, as well as a felony assault and risk of injury to a child case from 2019, in which an allegedly drunk Dewitt is accused of throwing a playpen at Minogue while she was holding their then-infant son. According to News 12, Minogue needed five staples to close the resulting wound on the back of her head.
On December 15, 2022, Milford Police Chief Keith L. Mello announced that Officer Scott Knablin would be placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation into his handling of a warrant application that was not completed until after Minogue’s death.
“On November 14, 2022, Julie Minogue went to the police department to file a complaint against Ewen Dewitt for sending her over 200 text messages between November 12 and 14, 2022, in violation of the Protective Order, which prohibited him from harassing her.
Officer Knablin interviewed Julie and collected evidence from her cellphone records, which she later provided,” Mello explained. “On Friday, November 18, 2022, Officer Knablin filed an arrest warrant application for Ewen Dewitt, charging him with violating a protective order.
Per policy, the arrest warrant application was reviewed by a supervisor, and both the supervisor and the officer believed that the arrest warrant application contained the necessary Probable Cause to support the charge that Mr. Dewitt’s text messages violated the modified Protective Order issued on January 15, 2021.
When the court reopened on November 21, 2022, the warrant application was filed with the Ansonia/Milford State’s Attorney’s Office. That same day, the Assistant State’s Attorney denied the warrant and returned it to Officer Knablin, asking for more information.
According to WTNH, Julie Minogue wrote that she was “afraid [Dewitt’s] going to kill me” before her death. The plaintiff’s family reportedly intends to argue that Dewitt “had a long history of violent behavior against Ms. Minogue and others, all of which was known or should have been known, to the proposed defendants.”
According to Chief Mello, the “additional information” requested by prosecutors was not added to the warrant application until December 9, when the case was transferred to another detective.
“As per policy, Officer Knablin was required to obtain the information requested by the Assistant State’s Attorney and resubmit the arrest warrant application as soon as possible. A formal Internal Affairs investigation has been launched into the timeliness of his response.
Officer Knablin has been placed on administrative leave pending the results of the Internal Investigation into his actions,” Mello stated. The top cop concluded his statement by promising to “enhance the Judicial GPS Monitoring Program for offenders of domestic violence, including expanding the criteria for their use.”
Knablin eventually resigned. The lawsuit is still ongoing.
Julie’s sister, Allison, started a GoFundMe campaign, claiming that her loved one “was a victim of domestic violence and had tried multiple times to keep her and her children safe.”
“Julie spent the majority of her parenting years as a single parent. “She handled working full-time and caring for her boys with ease and love,” Allison said.