Virginia woman shot dead by boyfriend in alleged domestic violence episode 6 days after protection order ended
NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA: A Virginia woman was allegedly shot and killed by her boyfriend, in what authorities believe is a domestic violence incident, just days after a protection order she had gotten against him expired.
The death came to light after officers from the Newport News Police Department responded to a home on the 1000 Block of Blackwater Way at around 7:30 am on Saturday, August 22, on reports of an "unspecified problem," according to Fox News. Neighbors reported hearing loud arguing and an angry male's voice late Friday into Saturday morning.
When the officers arrived, they were met by 25-year-old Matthew Allen Coglio outside the home. Coglio claimed the disturbance stemmed from a gun that had gone off as he and his girlfriend, 22-year-old April Lee Logan, were watching videos on firearm safety. They subsequently went inside and found her suffering from life-threatening injuries after suffering a shot to the head. Despite the best efforts of paramedics who had also been called to the scene, she could not be saved and was pronounced dead.
The police said her death "appeared to be domestic violence-related," citing the testimony of an officer who had seen Coglio with blood on his face, hands, and a shoe. It was also revealed that the victim had died just six days after a 2018 protection order she had obtained against the 25-year-old expired.
Authorities had responded to the same home in July 2018 and filed an emergency protection order on Logan's behalf after she told them Coglio had attacked her in a drunken rage. She said he pushed her, causing her to fall back into a dresser and hit the back of her head. She also said he choked her. Logan had eventually filed a longer-lasting protection order for family abuse against Coglio that applied from August 16, 2018, to August 16, 2020.
While the protective order barred Coglio from having "any contact" with Logan during those two years, court records obtained by the Newport News Daily Press showed that they had been living together for at least six months and that the assault and battery case against the 25-year-old had been dropped in December 2018. Her mother insisted that, while they shared a home, her daughter had been trying to leave Coglio.
Several, including family, friends, and co-workers, gathered behind the Target store where she worked to hold a vigil in her honor and to pay her tribute. One co-worker, Tori Ramirez, remembered her as a person who was "amazing, so funny, patient, never had a bad word to say about anyone."
The occasion was also marked by a speech from Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew, who urged the public to speak up and report domestic abuse. "April is not going to be another statistic, but we respond to too many calls in this city and the state," he said. "I would rather respond and it be nothing than for that one we don't respond to and we have another incident like Saturday morning. When situations happen, to those who need help, I promise you we work 24 hours for a reason, if you dial 911 you will get the help you need."
"Whether it's in a store, restaurant, hotel, apartment, business, wherever, if you hear something, I would rather you call and let an officer visually make sure everyone is OK and not thinking, 'It's just another argument, they'll stop, I don't want to get involved, it's not my place.' It is," he continued. "Domestic violence is everybody's place."
Coglio has been charged with second-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and discharging a firearm in an occupied dwelling in connection to Logan's death, the Newport News Police Department has confirmed.