Patricia Conlon: Texas woman charged with murder after she shot dead daughter's 'abusive' boyfriend
DALLAS, TEXAS: Patricia Conlon, a Texas mother, was arrested on Monday, August 28, for shooting and killing her daughter’s allegedly abusive boyfriend, Justin Troutte. Conlon sobbed openly while her police mugshot was taken after she was taken into custody.
Conlon has said she acted in self-defence but police believe she provoked the confrontation and used unreasonable force. The 49-year-old now faces one count of murder charges for killing Justin Troutte, 34, Law and Crime reported
When did the incident happen?
The incident as per Dallas Police occurred on Sunday, August 27, around 1.50 pm when cops were called to a home at the 4800 block of Ash Lane in Old East Dallas in connection with a domestic dispute.
On arrival, officers and emergency personnel found Troutte wounded with a gunshot wound. He was later pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the arrest report, as reported by Fox 4, Patricia Conlon’s daughter, Jenny, had been in an abusive relationship with Troutte since December 2021, with "ongoing domestic disturbance."
She said Troutte hit her above the eye with a cell phone on Saturday, August 26, but she did not report the assault to the police.
Was Jenny ending her relationship with Justin Troutte?
Jenny told her mother that she wanted to end the relationship and move out of the home she shared with Troutte and a roommate.
Patricia Conlon called 911 before going home to help her daughter. But she entered the house before the officers arrived.
The mother was holding a gun in her hand when she arrived, according to witnesses as mentioned in the report. She confronted Troutte in the bathroom and tried to keep him there until the police came.
Patricia said she did this because Troutte had run away from previous domestic incidents.
However, things escalated when Troutte yelled at her: “Just shoot me.” Patricia said she fired after Troutte grabbed her arm and pulled her hair as she was afraid for her life.
Did Patricia Conlon act in self-defence?
The police said the evidence did not match Conlon’s story and that she could not claim self-defence because she initiated the conflict and used excessive force.
When the police arrived, they found Troutte dead at the scene. They arrested Conlon and charged her with one count of murder.
Meanwhile, Jenny took to Facebook and wrote about loving him despite the consequences.
"This is never what I wanted...I loved someone unconditionally despite unimaginably bad consequences at every turn, and I'm desperately trying to find a way to process these events.
Justin Troutte's mother, Sue Troutte, posted a photo of her son on her Facebook sharing that she was "always" love him.
"He came to us earlier then expected but then was taken way too early. He did manage to live life to the fullest. We will always love him and his sweet spirit," she wrote, adding, "Thank you for all of you angels who have been with us on this journey."