Inset left: Nathan Davin (St. Louis County Jail). Inset right: MaeDean Davin (GoFundMe). Background: The 1500 block of North 9th Avenue East in Duluth, Minnesota (Google Maps).
A middle-aged Minnesota man is accused of shooting his mother in the face while she rested in a living room recliner, authorities say.
In a grim turn of events, Nathan Davin, aged 46, faces charges of second-degree murder in connection with the death of his 74-year-old mother, MaeDean Davin. The investigators reported that the crime scene was extremely disturbing.
Law enforcement received a call leading them to a residence on the 1500 block of North 9th Avenue East in Duluth on Saturday. This was after Nathan Davin went to his neighbor’s home, alerting them about a death. He was reportedly only in underwear and covered in blood when the police arrived, as stated by authorities.
Nathan Davin also called another neighbor and told them, “My mom’s dead. She blew her head off,” Duluth News Tribune reported.
When police arrived at the home, they made contact with Nathan Davin, who was on the front porch.
Duluth Police Department officers questioned him, asking, “Why is there blood on your hands?” He allegedly informed them that upon waking, he “found my mom f—ing dead.”
Upon entering the residence, officers discovered MaeDean Davin in a reclining chair in the living room with a horrific gunshot wound to her face. The probable cause statement obtained by McClatchy News described a substantial amount of blood on the victim’s clothing and the chair.
Reports indicated that her head appeared crushed by blunt force, with the gunshot wound about the size of a baseball, exposing brain matter. Investigators also noted graffiti inside the home with “satanic” symbols and phrases, including one saying, “go to hell.”
In Nathan Davin’s upstairs bedroom, a Glock 9 mm was found on a nightstand with apparent blood on it, as well as ammunition that matched the pistol and shell casings found downstairs, Duluth News Tribune reported, adding that Assistant St. Louis County Attorney Kirstyn Oye said in court that when MaeDean Davin was shot, she was “positioned in her recliner in a way that indicated she was sleeping.”
Nathan Davin was arrested and placed in a police car, where he reportedly made incriminating statements. He allegedly was heard saying, “wake up to bulls–” and “there went my life.”
While the suspect – who was allegedly drunk when officers spoke with him – initially claimed he woke up to find his mother dead, he later admitted out loud what he’d done, according to authorities.
“God damn it. I killed my mother,” Nathan Davin was allegedly captured saying as he sat alone in an interview room, which was being recorded. Authorities have not shared a suspected motive.
Nathan Davin is being held in the St. Louis County Jail on a $750,000 bail. His criminal history is largely limited to traffic offenses – though in 2005, he was charged with fifth-degree assault. That charge was later dismissed as he pleaded guilty to interfering with an emergency 911 call, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
On the current charge of second-degree murder, he is set to appear next in court on Sept. 15.
MaeDean Davin was described as a “kind hearted soul” in a GoFundMe set up for her granddaughter. She worked as an educator at Summit School in Duluth for three years, an administrator for the school wrote on social media following her death.
Duluth is a city on Lake Superior located about 150 miles north of Minneapolis.
