Inset left: Brandon Chretien (Jefferson County Correctional Facility). Inset right: Tammy Dawson (Obituary). Background: The area near where authorities say Chretien shot and killed Dawson in Beaumont, Texas (Google Maps).
A Texas man has been jailed after authorities say he shot his girlfriend in the head, then suggested she shared some responsibility for the struggle that led to the fatal violence.
Brandon Chretien, 44, was initially charged earlier this month with aggravated assault with a weapon causing brain injury or paralysis after the shooting left 25-year-old Tammy Dawson critically injured and fighting for her life.
Dawson later died from her injuries.
Chretien has now been indicted on a murder charge.
The shooting took place on June 6 at Chretien’s home on Heartfield Lane in Beaumont, a major city in East Texas, according to authorities.
Officers were called to the residence at about 2:40 a.m. after receiving reports that someone had been shot, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by local CBS, The CW, and Fox affiliate KFDM and the Beaumont Enterprise.
Police said Dawson was discovered in a closet with a gunshot wound to the head. She had suffered a traumatic brain injury and was taken to St. Elizabeth Hospital, where she was first listed in critical condition. Investigators later said the shooting left her in a vegetative state.
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.
