Man Restrained in Court After Expletive-Filled Tirade During Sentencing for Killing Ex-Girlfriend with an Ax

A Connecticut man had to be restrained by six marshals after erupting in an expletive-laden tirade during his sentencing for murdering his ex-girlfriend with an ax in front with her two children present.

In court on Thursday, May 22, Ewen Dewitt, 45, was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the brutal 2022 slaying of Julie Minogue, 40, of Milford.

Dewitt’s anger emerged once more when state’s attorney Margaret Kelly told the court during the proceeding that the murder was not impulsive, as the judge commented, but that Dewitt took careful steps to plan the murder, NBC Connecticut reports.

When she started to tell the court the murder was “cold, calculated, well thought out,” Dewitt lost his temper.

“Rot in hell, you piece of —” he yelled, screaming other expletives, WTNH reports.

Six marshals in the courtroom immediately restrained him, telling him to sit down in his chair.

“Watch your mouth,” one female marshal told him.

The judge told him that if his outbursts continued, he would be removed from court, NBC Connecticut reports.

“That’d be great,” Dewitt responded, according to NBC Connecticut.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE‘s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

The sentencing comes two months after Dewitt pleaded guilty to murder and risk of injury to a child.

On the night of Dec. 6, 2022, Minogue’s then-17-year-old son said he was awoken by his mother’s screams, according to an arrest warrant obtained by News 12 Connecticut.

He ran downstairs and found his mother lying in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor with Dewitt standing nearby holding a “long brown ax,” according to the warrant.

“I looked at my mom for a split second and her head was sideways next to the sink on the ground,” he said, according to the affidavit. “Her body was all over. I just see blood all over.”

Racing back upstairs, he locked his door, called 911, and then, fearing for his life, punched a hole in his window screen and jumped out of the second-story window, according to the warrant.

When police arrived, they found Minogue’s 3-year-old child with Dewitt sitting on the couch in the living room, “in shock with a blank stare, not crying and not responding,” the warrant said.

During the sentencing hearing, Minogue’s father, Gerald Minogue, addressed the court, saying he was relieved that the proceedings were coming to an end.

“However, I will always carry the weight of the horrible thought of the pain, horror and fear my daughter experienced in those last moments of her life attacked viciously by an axe by an evil monster,” he said, NBC Connecticut reports.

A GoFundMe was set up to help Minogue’s children.

Authorities Accused of Mishandling the Case

In 2023, Minogue’s family sued the Milford Police Department and the City of Milford, accusing them of mishandling the case and failing to respond to Minogue’s pleas for help before her death, WTNH reports.

Minogue had repeatedly asked police and the courts for help in protecting herself and her children, according to the lawsuit.

She was killed just five days after a judge granted her a restraining order she had requested in November 2022.

“I am scared for the safety of my children and I,” Minogue wrote in the filing, News 12 Connecticut reports. “Ewen has got himself into a lot of trouble with drugs and alcohol and I’m scared he’s going to kill me.”

Minogue reached out to police several times about Dewitt, including how he inundated her with 200 texts in two days, WTNH reports.

After Minogue’s murder, ​an officer involved in the case was investigated for allegedly failing to gather information in a timely fashion for an arrest warrant against Dewitt before Minogue’s death, WTNH reports.

The city of Milford and the police department did not respond to requests for comment.