Texas Deputy Arrested for Murder of Girlfriend
A Sheriff's Deputy for Tarrant County is believed to have killed his girlfriend.
According to a press release from the City of Denton, on September 14, Jay Allen Rotter, 36, was arrested by police with a warrant a for Murder and Tampering with Evidence.
Rotter placed a call on August 26 to 911 and told dispatchers that his girlfriend, 46-year-old Leslie Lynn Hartman, had shot herself in the head. The New York Post has reported that when Rotter was speaking with 911 that he identified himself as an officer, and also stated that he was hugging Hartman when she shot herself.
When officers arrived at the scene in the 2400 block of Robinwood Ln. they did discover Hartman deceased. Authorities have also confirmed that Hartman and Rotter, "were the only two people living in the residence at the time of the incident."
Hartman was paralyzed and used a wheelchair, but Rotter told police that he "would have stopped" her if he could.
Detectives found Rotter's story questionable based on preliminary evidence, and they later found messages that Rotter sent online the same night of the shooting. The messages suggest that Hartman was annoyed with Rotter for shooting a milk bottle outside. Police were able to locate the milk bottle with a hole in the trash can.
Shortly after that message, Rotter sent another message that stated, “I just sent a 9 millie in this [expletive] hippie.” According to the Denton Record Chronicle, the shell casings in the backyard matched the shell casings found in the bedroom from Rotter’s handgun, which he told police Hartman had retrieved without his knowledge.
Rotter was booked into the Denton County Jail and his bail was set at $1,150,000. Jail records indicated he remained in the jail Wednesday afternoon.
Rotters was employed with the Sheriff's department since 2005 in the narcotics division, and has since been placed on administrative leave.
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