PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — A Pinellas County man, who shot his ex-girlfriend 11 times before killing himself over the weekend, was also arrested in previous years for strangling her, according to court documents. Domestic violence advocates said strangulation is the number one sign that a homicide will occur in the future.
Denise Garrett was shot by her ex-boyfriend, 65-year-old Wayne Lovell Dew, 11 times Sunday morning around 1 a.m. in a Seminole neighborhood. She survived, but after an hours-long standoff with police, they said Dew had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“She said she remembers layin’ there, trying to play dead, and he’s still shooting her while she’s laying there, playin’ dead,” explained Garrett's now-fiancé Timothy Randolph who ABC Action News met at the house on Monday.
According to Randolph, Garrett had been living with Dew, whose name is also on the house, as a part-owner. Randolph said he was patient because he knew she was trying to get Dew to find another living situation, but he knew she was scared of him.
“She just wanted to get out of it. She was tired of being caged…that’s the only way you can put it, being caged. You know somebody holds you, hostage, treat you like a child,” Randolph exclaimed.
Randolph was on the phone with her before the shooting occurred. He told us that he heard Dew take her phone, and she was yelling at him to give it back.
Garrett survived the shooting after running out the front door and across the street to the neighbor’s house. We spoke with the neighbor who answered the door and saved her life. He told us he put a towel around her head to stop the bleeding and called 911, staying on the phone with them until they arrived.
He added that this isn’t the first time she has come over asking for help. He recalls in 2016, she came knocking, claiming Dew had strangled her.
We found an arrest affidavit for Dew from 2016 for domestic battery by strangulation. The report stated he threw her on the floor and “jumped on top of her and used his hands to cover her mouth and nose to stop her from breathing.”
According to court documents, Garrett dismissed the charges against him five days later.
Domestic violence nonprofit CASA said strangulation is the number one precursor of homicide to come.
“If somebody has ever been strangled by their partner, even one time, they are 750 times more likely to ultimately be killed by their partner,” CASA Pinellas CEO Lariana Forsythe told ABC Action News.
Garrett is one of the luckier ones. Her fiancé said she is doing okay and will be released from the hospital Monday.
“It's very common in domestic violence cases in our society. We kind of say, ‘Well, why doesn't she just leave? I would never let myself get involved in that,’ kind of thing,” Forsythe explained, “Oftentimes, domestic violence isn't something that just happens overnight… usually it's so entwined and somebody that’s involved doesn’t really know how they can get out because it's so complex.”
If you or someone you know in Pinellas County needs help, you call CASAat 727-895-4912.
CASA also opened a Family Justice Center at 1011 1st Ave N. in St. Petersburg, where people can walk in and get assistance from 12 different partner agencies. For more information, visit the Family Justice Center's website.
If you or someone you know is in a domestic violence situation in Tampa Bay, you can also call The Spring Tampa Bay at 813-247-SAFE or visit their website here to chat.
You can call or text the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 or text “START” to 88788.
Click here for more resources.
