DETROIT – Chilling new details came to light Monday in the murder of a Detroit mother who was fatally shot in front of her 4-year-old daughter.
It has been four months since Latrese Morris-Dorsey, 42, was shot and killed in her own home.
Earl Thomas-Lionel Maxwell is accused of shooting her multiple times June 18 at her home in the 20060 block of Avon Avenue. He was bound over for trial Monday.
Police said Maxwell shot Morris-Dorsey in front of her 4-year-old daughter. Her 14-year-old son was in a nearby room in the house, police said.
"He called me at least 20 times because she had cut her phone off, so the only person he could get in touch with is me," said Paul Dorsey, Morris-Dorsey's ex-husband.
Dorsey was asked what Maxwell said when they first spoke.
"'When I see your wife, I'm going to kill her,'" Dorsey said. "Second time he called, he reiterated he was going to hurt her."
He said the threat was made two weeks before his ex-wife's death.
"I told her everything," Dorsey said. "From the beginning to when he cooled down, saying, 'Hey, let's get this business together.'"
Dorsey said after making the threat, Maxwell called back to recant it.
In his statement, Maxwell said he accidentally shot Morris-Dorsey 10 times.
Medical officials were called to the scene and pronounced Morris-Dorsey dead.
Maxwell is charged with first-degree murder and a felony firearms violation.
What happened
Police said Maxwell was Morris-Dorsey's ex-boyfriend. Her teen son heard arguing followed by gunshots. Neighbors recalled what happened next.
"He was saying, 'Help, my momma has been shot. My momma going to die. I don't know what's going on,'" said Ron Wilson, a neighbor who performed CPR on the woman.
Neighbors said they rushed inside to try and help the woman, who was shot multiple times.
"I gave her CPR (and) noticed the bullet wounds," Wilson said. "As I gave her CPR, she took her last two breaths."
The teen told police he saw a man running from the home moments after his mother was killed. He reported seeing a black man leaving the home and driving off in a dark-colored vehicle.
"He might never be right -- always thinking he saw his mother pass," Wilson said.
Medics responded to the home and pronounced the woman dead.
Police said Maxwell turned himself in to the Detroit Police Department a couple of days later.
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