Inset left: Brandon Chretien (Jefferson County Correctional Facility). Inset right: Tammy Dawson (Obituary). Background: The area near where Chretien allegedly shot and killed Dawson in Beaumont, Texas (Google Maps).
A Texas man is behind bars after shooting his girlfriend in the head and claiming she was partially to blame for the violence that eventually took her life, law enforcement in the Lone Star State says.
Earlier this month, Brandon Chretien, 44, was charged with one count of aggravated assault with a weapon causing brain injury/paralysis for the shooting that left 25-year-old Tammy Dawson fighting for her life.
But then that fight ended.
Now, the defendant has been indicted for murder.
The underlying incident occurred on June 6, at the defendant’s residence on Heartfield Lane in Beaumont – a large city in East Texas.
Around 2:40 a.m., officers arrived in response to reports of someone being shot, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by local CBS, The CW, and Fox affiliate KFDM and the Beaumont Enterprise.
Dawson was found in a closet with a gunshot wound to her head, police said. She was suffering from a traumatic brain injury and rushed to St. Elizabeth Hospital, where she was initially listed in critical condition. The victim was then left in a vegetative state, police said.
She succumbed to her injuries the next day.
Dawson’s loved ones remembered her fondly.
“She was the embodiment of love,” a friend told Beaumont-based ABC affiliate KBMT and NBC affiliate KJAC, which collectively broadcast as 12News Now. “That girl had so much to give.”
Investigators said Chretien and Dawson were in a relationship.
The defendant himself called 911 on the night in question and told the dispatcher that he and his girlfriend had struggled with a gun, according to the charging document. At some point during the struggle, the defendant said the victim had been shot in the head.
Responding officers said they found the handgun used in the shooting on a bedside table.
An investigation determined the gunshot wound to Dawson’s head was not self-inflicted, according to law enforcement. Rather, police believe the evidence suggests that Chretien shot the victim himself.
While details about the exact evidence tying the boyfriend to the crime are scarce, law enforcement says the investigation is ongoing.
At the residence, investigators stayed for hours, gathering evidence and taking photographs. Police also called Beaumont Animal Care to take a small dog into custody, KFDM reported.
Since his arrest, Chretien has been detained in the Jefferson County Correctional Facility on $1 million bond.
During his initial post-arrest hearing, Magistrate Richard Hughes set the bond and conditions that include GPS monitoring, prohibiting the defendant from possessing firearms or ammunition, and no contact or communication with witnesses.
