Ashley Bitikofer’s relatives told police Dejuan McIntyre was trying to “reconcile” in the days before he allegedly fatally shot her near the Merrillville Menards parking lot.
Another man with her was shot multiple times.
“Tell my kids I love them and I’m sorry,” the man said in a 911 call.
McIntyre, 42, of Gary, was arrested and charged Saturday with murder and attempted murder.
He is in custody, held without bail. A public defender was appointed Monday.
Police were called to the big box store’s parking lot, 6300 Mississippi St. at 11:13 p.m. June 8 after a 2007 Saturn Ion crashed into the store’s east fence.
Officers found the man, still alive, north of the fence. He was airlifted to a Chicago hospital.
Bitikofer, 34, of Portage was found south of the fence. She was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:15 a.m. Her death was ruled a homicide.
The wounded man managed to tell police on the scene that a man named “Don” shot them.
A witness said he heard gunshots. A man dressed in a white shirt and black pants got into the Saturn SUV, then fled.
Police found five bullet casings and recovered Bitikofer and the wounded man’s cell phones.
Bitikofer called 911, telling dispatchers she thought she was bleeding to death. She was going down a hill, she said.
“Help, the cops are coming,” she said.
The recording appears to show a physical confrontation or running.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Please don’t. Please, please, stop, please.”
The dispatcher heard “tapping sounds,” then the line appeared to disconnect. Bitikofer didn’t answer a return call.
The wounded man, 35, called 911, reporting “shots fired.” One person in his car was dead, he said.
The man appeared to be struggling to breathe.
Bitikofer was “shot by her ex,” he said. “Tell my kids I love them and I’m sorry.”
He needed water, he said. He said he was shot in the face, left leg and abdomen. He was found along Mississippi and partly in the roadway, according to the affidavit.
The dispatcher overheard bystanders rushing to help him before the call disconnected.
Bitikofer’s relative said she and McIntyre had a “tumultuous” relationship and had broken up a few months earlier. He showed “unannounced” on Mother’s Day to Bitikofer’s mother’s house trying to “reconcile,” the relative said.
He “would not leave her alone,” the relative said.
The relative’s friend said via texts that McIntyre bought a hotel room the past few nights for her and “knew” about the other man, who was shot with her, according to court documents.
They were “having issues” and McIntyre “threatened her.” The friend declined to talk to the police.
Bitikofer and McIntyre dated for about a year. Police learned he drove a Mercury Mountaineer. License plate readers traced one near the crime scene that was registered to him.
Another relative said they “knew this was going to happen.”
A witness told police they were texting with Bitikofer on June 8 just before the shooting.
“Dejuan just came in,” Bitikofer wrote. “Super 8 Merrillville.”
“He was in the room. Put his hands on me,” she wrote. “We got kicked out after (the wounded man) paid. Like no refunds or nothing. He’s right here.”
Why is McIntyre there, the witness asked in a text.
I don’t know, Bitikofer replied just before 11 p.m.
Bitikofer shared her location via text — near the crime scene — just before the shooting.
Forensic Pathologist Dr. Zhuo Wang said Bitikofer was fatally shot from 2-3 feet away in the right neck, exiting through her cheek.
She was also shot in the right temple, exiting her right eye. She was shot twice in the left arm — defense wounds, he concluded.
A security camera showed the Saturn Ion and Mercury Mountaineer stopped at 11:05 p.m. at the traffic light near E. 83rd Avenue and Mississippi Street.
McIntyre appears to get out of his car, pop the hood and get “something” out of his engine, then gets back in the vehicle.
He was arrested June 9 and denied involvement.
His formal appearance is set June 20 before Judge Natalie Bokota.