Man sentenced to 40 years for 2022 murder of former girlfriend in Milford has outburst in court

A man who killed his former girlfriend, a mother of three, in her Milford home in 2022 while two of her children were home has been sentenced to 40 years in prison.

In March, Ewen Dewitt, 45, accepted a plea deal for 40 years to serve.

During Thursday’s sentencing hearing, the court heard from Julie Minogue’s sister, mother and eldest son, Nicholas, for the first time since the brutal murder.

Minogue’s sister, Allison Barotti-Corcoran was the first to address the courtroom.

“December 6, 2022, is an evening that will haunt my family forever. I wish I could convey the heartbreak that we continue to experience and relive everyday.”

She went on to say that her sister’s murder was horrific and absolutely disgusting.

“I often lie awake at night, thinking about the last few moments and what they must have been like. I can’t imagine the fear and the pain in those last moments of her life,” Barotti-Corcoran said.

Minogue’s mother, Sandra Toepper spoke about the immense grief her family has experienced since her daughter was taken away.

“He denied me and my family the right to see my daughter even before the funeral because he mutilated her, we couldn't even see her or say goodbye to her,” Toepper said.

As she held back her tears, she directed her speech directly towards Dewitt.

“Our lives will never be the same because of him. My wish is he gets what he deserves, I hope he rots in hell.”

The third victim impact statement was read out loud by Nicholas Minogue, Julie’s eldest son.

“Ewen, you are a disgusting coward, you took the life of our mother, a strong beautiful woman who raised 3 boys on her own. A woman who couldn’t defend herself, a woman who was 100 times the person you will ever be.”

In the courtroom it was learned that Nicholas was not in Connecticut at the time of his mother’s murder., but his pain was apparent as he spoke on behalf of his mother, and younger brothers.

“You didn’t just kill our mom, you exposed the kind of pathetic, hollow, excuse of a human being you are, a failure of a man, a failure of a father, a failure of a brother, but most of all failure at life. After all your failures you find yourself here, all you have now is this courtroom, this shame, the sentence, it’s all you deserve.”

The last family member of the Minogue family to speak was her father, Gerald Minogue, who has attended every one of the court proceedings in his daughter’s murder case.

“I’m relieved in a sense that these proceedings are concluding 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.”

The courtroom also heard from Dewitt's attorney, Claud Chong.

Chong attempted to provide the courtroom with an explanation for Dewitt's actions.

“The combination of drinking, drug use, depression, PTSD, he lost control, and he acted impulsively in range and anger which we all agree is unacceptable behavior. However, I stand here today your honor, not to offer an excuse for Mr. Dewitt but an explanation," Attorney Chong said.

The use of the word "impulsive" by the judge prompted State's Attorney Margaret Kelley to clarify for the record that Dewitt's actions were not impulsive but intentional, causing Dewitt to have an outburst in the courtroom.

The judge had to interrupt them.

“Mr. Dewitt, I understand what you may be going through but I just have to remind you, this is an orderly place. If outbursts like that continue, I’m left with no other choice but to ask you, to remove you from the court,” the judge said.

“That’d be great,” Dewitt responded.

The judge went onto say that the sentencing would continue and asked Dewitt to remain calm and to go on with the proceedings.

Police said Dewitt killed 40-year-old Julie Minogue with an ax in her home in December 2022 while her then-3-year-old and 17-year-old children were inside.

A restraining order had been issued against Dewitt just days before the fatal attack.

In November 2019, Milford police had arrested Dewitt when he was suspected of assaulting Minogue and a protective order was issued, police said.

Then, on Dec. 1, 2022, Minogue was granted a full no-contact restraining order after filing a complaint that Dewitt had sent her harassing text messages, police said.

Documentation that NBC Connecticut obtained said Minogue told police that she was scared Dewitt was going to kill her.

Five days later, police found her dead in her home.

Dewitt was charged with murder, risk of injury to child, home invasion, criminal violation of a restraining order and violation of a protective order.

According to court documents, Dewitt pleaded guilty to two of the counts. On Thursday, Dewitt was sentenced to 40 years for murder and 10 years for risk of injury to be served concurrently.