A 27-year-old Waterbury man who is accused of killing the 16-year-old girl he was dating told police that they were fighting after she threatened to tell his girlfriend of six years about their sexual relationship, according to court documents.
Dominique Pittman, a 27-year-old father of three, has been charged with the murder of 16-year-old Evalyce Santiago, of Waterbury, who was found dead Monday evening after a fiery car crash in the city.
Police responded to the scene of that car crash in the 1700 block of Thomaston Avenue in Waterbury around 10 p.m. Monday and Santiago in the front passenger seat, unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at the scene, according to court documents.
Pittman initially told investigators that he was driving, went with Santiago to pick up her boyfriend, an argument ensued, he heard gunshots go off in the car and saw Santiago slumped over. Then, the boyfriend ran from the car, according to Pittman, who said he did not know the boyfriend’s name.
As Pittman spoke with investigators, there were inconsistencies in his story and he later admitted that no one other than he and Santiago were in the car, according to the arrest warrant application.
Pittman then said Santiago had a knife, started yelling at him about borrowing money from him and him buying her a winter coat, then she started cutting store scan cards from his keys and took a gun from the console of his car, the arrest warrant application said. As they were fighting over the gun, it went off, and Pittman crashed the car.
Officers then confronted Pittman about the possibility of Santiago being pregnant and finding traces of his DNA and he admitted to having a sexual relationship with the teen until November, according to police paperwork.
Local
At that point, Pittman said Santiago had been FaceTiming him to pick her up and threatened to tell his girlfriend of six years about their sexual relationship, according to the arrest warrant application.
They got into an argument, fought over the gun and he pulled the trigger and shot Santiago twice in the head, the court records state.
Santiago’s family members said they did not know the teen was dating the 27-year-old Pittman, who has fathered several children with Santiago’s aunt.
"Nobody knows nothing until something happens. That’s when we all realize the tragedy. It was under our noses and we didn’t see it," Santiago’s grandfather, Francisco Rivera, told NBC Connecticut. "We go on with life. He looks at four walls and figures out what he did wrong."
Santiago was a student at Wilby High School, who had recently transferred from Crosby High School, when she was killed. A vigil was held for the teen Tuesday night.
Bond for Pittman was initially set at $1 million, but was increased to $3 million Wednesday. He is due in court on Dec. 20 and a mental health evaluation was ordered.
He was represented in court by a public defender.
Police said Pittman has also been charged with weapons violations, including carrying a pistol without a permit and weapons in a motor vehicle.
Pittman's family had no comment after court.
