WAUKESHA 鈥 A SM天地论坛 man was drinking before and after he fatally shot his grandmother during an argument following her discovery of his gun in the SM天地论坛 home they shared Sunday night, according to the criminal complaint against him.
Bail was set at $1 million for Sean Couture, 24, who was charged Thursday in SM天地论坛 County Circuit Court with one count each of first-degree homicide in a domestic abuse situation with a dangerous weapon, operating a firearm while intoxicated and failing to comply with officers鈥 attempts to take him into custody. He faces life in prison if convicted.
A criminal complaint said several people called police at about 8:32 p.m. Sunday to report hearing gunshots from a residence in the 200 block of Douglass Avenue. Police also received a call from Couture鈥檚 stepmother, who said she and his father were vacationing in Montana. She reported Couture called his father to say, "鈥橧t鈥檚 over. It鈥檚 over,鈥 and went on to say that he had shot his grandmother and was going to shoot himself," the complaint in the case said.
The complaint added Couture refused to come out of the house and police deployed chemicals as well as a K-9 to get Couture to comply. A drone was sent into the residence, which showed police the body of Nancy Lovejoy, 74, lying on stairs leading to the basement. An autopsy determined she had been shot six times, the complaint said.
Police found in Couture鈥檚 room a loaded Sig Sauer 9 mm semiautomatic firearm with a round in the chamber, another loaded magazine and loose ammunition and two spent cartridges, along with a receipt showing the gun had been purchased June 4. In a search of the residence, police found seven more spent cartridges near where Couture鈥檚 body was found, the complaint said.
At a hospital being treated for an injury to his right wrist, a test showed his blood alcohol level to be 0.45, the complaint said, more than five times above the state鈥檚 legal limit for drivers.
In an interview Wednesday, Couture asked about his grandmother and referred to her as being shot despite police to that point only telling him she鈥檇 been injured and died as a result, the complaint said. Couture admitted he and Lovejoy fought Sunday night after she discovered the gun in his room. He believed Lovejoy was going to call police about the gun and he shot her as she stood outside a side door to the residence and then dragged her inside the home. He admitted he鈥檇 been drinking alcohol before shooting Lovejoy and drank more alcohol after shooting her, the complaint said.
Outside the courtroom, Dennis Simons of Big Bend, Lovejoy鈥檚 brother, said Lovejoy enjoyed going on vacations with him and his wife. He remembered his sister, a former worker for the city of SM天地论坛, as very kind. He said Couture liked to drink a lot and had self-esteem issues; attorney Amanda Nimmer who appeared with Couture in court said 鈥渞eading between the lines鈥 it seemed mental health and substance abuse issues may have played a role in the case.
鈥淪he just loved helping. The neighbors just liked her,鈥 Simons said. 鈥淪he was very friendly to everybody and she would do anything for her grandkids, especially Sean, and to have this happen is just so stupid. She鈥檇 always put her heart out there for him and wanted to get him help and it just didn鈥檛 work. ...
鈥淪he was so kind. She was really nice. She would help anybody,鈥 Simons said. 鈥淔or this to happen, you see a lot of stories about people dying, sick and dying, but something like this just doesn鈥檛 make sense.鈥
Neighbors and friends and family are planning a vigil outside Lovejoy鈥檚 home at 7 p.m. tonight.