Eric Coulter, 18, fatally shot his former girlfriend in the face early Saturday morning. According to Coulter, it was an accident, which police find highly unlikely for a number of reasons.
For starters, his explanation of how the gun "accidentally" went off makes no sense. Then there's the fact that the victim, 19-year-old Monique Cota, had recently broken off the nearly three-year relationship and had since gotten engaged to another man. Not to mention, the two have a history of beating each other up.
According to court douments obtained by New Times, Cota was in Coulter's bedroom in his parents' home at 622 North Mckemy Avenue in Chandler about 1:10 a.m. Saturday, where Coulter allegedly shot her in the face.
Prior to going to Coulter's house, Cota had been at the home of a friend
when she received a phone call, presumably from Coulter. She left the
friend's house in a hurry without saying who had just called her.
After the shooting, Coulter burst out of the room and told his family that he'd killed his former girlfriend.
"It was an accident. I killed Monique. I killed Monique," Coulter told
his father and sister after shooting Cota. "I shot her in the head. I'm
going to jail."
Coulter's family claims he then ran out of the house.
After Coulter left, police later determined, his family tried to cover
up the crime scene. According to police, his sister, Melissa Smith, took
several firearms out of Coulter's room and hid them in a neighbor's
bush.
She then tracked down Coulter and took him to a Motel 6 in Mesa.
While at the motel, Coulter and his sister watched the media coverage of the shooting and
discussed what had happened. Coulter told his sister he was "inspecting
the gun," an AR-15/M16 rifle, when he pulled the charging handle and
bolt back several times to show Cota that it was empty. According to
Coulter, as he was doing this, the gun discharged, and Cota ended up
with a bullet in her face.
Police, however, say the story "doesn't seem feasible" because "cycling
the bolt would extract the cartridge and not cause it to fire.
In addition to the story about the gun's accidental discharge, Coulter
and Cota have a history of domestic violence that Cota told her mother
was growing increasingly violent.
In October of last year, the two were each arrested for domestic
violence disorderly conduct after they got into a fight at
Coulter's parents' house.
About a month ago, following another fight, Cota got a text message from
Coulter telling her not to drive her car. She drove it anyway -- and it
broke down. To repair it, Cota had to get a new engine. She later found
out Coulter had tampered with it.
After the incident with the car, Cota told her mother her relationship
with Coulter was over for good. She made arrangements to move to
California, and got a job at a Domino's pizza restaurant. She'd also
rekindled a relationship with a former boyfriend, and the two became
engaged on Thursday.
Police found Coulter at the Motel 6 about 6:45 p.m. Saturday. His sister
and brother, John Coulter, were also in the motel. John Coulter, police
discovered when they entered the motel, was in posession of two fake
New York identification cards with his brother's picture on them, $2,000
in cash, and some marijuana
All three were arrested.
Smith was booked on one count each of hindering prosecution, obstructing a criminal investigation and tampering with evidence.
John Coulter was booked on one count each of marijuana possession and forgery.
Eric Coulter was hit with one count each of second-degree murder, and manslaughter. He's being held on a $1 million bond.