Mom of 2 Killed On Her Christmas Eve Birthday, and Victim's Child Tells Grandmother What They Heard By Samira Asma-Sadeque

Authorities in Minnesota have arrested a man after his girlfriend was found fatally shot on Christmas Eve, which was also the woman’s 26th birthday.

Tatianna Marie Ehnes-Giles, 26, was found dead by Dakota County Sheriff’s Office deputies responding to a home in Castle Rock, Minn., on Wednesday, Dec. 24, the Dakota County Attorney’s Office said in a statement this week.

Demarco Marquie Jones, 29, was arrested in connection with her death.

When officers arrived at Ehnes-Giles’ residence, they found Jones at the top of the stairs of the second floor, with blood on his hands and the back of his head, the statement claims. He was in a condition to speak to police, notifying them there was a firearm inside a room.

Ehnes-Giles and Jones shared two children and lived on the second floor of the home with their children, while the victim’s mother and brothers live downstairs.

According to a criminal complaint cited by the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Ehnes-Giles’ mother, who called police, learned about what happened from one of her grandchildren.

The child ran downstairs in fear after hearing a loud noise and demonstrated the sound by banging on the wall twice, she told officers. Both children then told their grandmother “Daddy fell,” prompting her to go upstairs, where she found Jones on the floor, groaning and saying that Ehnes-Giles had shot him.

But then, the complaint claimed, Jones allegedly admitted that he’d shot Ehnes-Giles.

The woman then found her daughter “covered in blood, with her hands in front of her face as if she was protecting herself,” the complaint alleges.

The incident was initially being investigated as an attempted murder-suicide, KSTP previously reported; the latest statement from the Attorney’s Office did not mention this.

Ehnes-Giles was a beloved mother, daughter and sister who enjoyed bonfires, July 4 and joking around with her siblings, according to an online obituary.

A GoFundMe has been set up to assist her children.

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Jones has been charged with second-degree intentional murder in connection with Ehnes-Giles’ death.

A judge has set his bail at $2 million. He is receiving treatment at a hospital while under arrest, the police said in their statement, and will be transferred to the county jail after the hospital clears him.

It’s not immediately clear if he has retained an attorney to speak on his behalf. He is scheduled for a court appearance on Jan. 5.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.