An Illinois woman shot her boyfriend after discovering he was cheating on her, and then video-chatted with his lover while he lay bleeding on the floor, prosecutors allege.
Rosa Lagrone, 34, faces first-degree attempted murder charges over the Friday shooting which put her 27-year-old boyfriend in hospital with a bullet lodged in his spine, the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office said Sunday.
Prosecutors said at a bond hearing Sunday that Lagrone shot her boyfriend, who is yet to be named, during an argument about his relationship with another woman, the Naperville Sun reported.
Lagrone then allegedly contacted the woman via Facebook video chat as her boyfriend lay in a pool of blood, DuPage County Assistant State’s Attorney Mandy Meindl said.
Although the victim was only shot once in the arm, the bullet became lodged in his spine, leaving him hospitalized and on a ventilator. Tests were being carried out Sunday to determine whether he had any remaining brain activity.
A murder charge could be filed against Lagrone if he succumbs to his injuries, Meindl said.
Lagrone found out that her boyfriend was dating another woman a week before the shooting, which took place as the victim was packing his bags to move out, prosecutors said.
Footage of the video call between Lagrone and the other woman appears to show the 27-year-old laying in a pool of blood while speaking, although the clip lacks audio, the Tribune reported.
Lagrone, a mother of four, told investigators the gun went off accidentally; however, the clip shows someone off camera thought to be her kicking the prostrate man twice, Meindl said at the bond hearing.
She then called a relative and asked them to collect her children, aged 6, 10, 13, and 14, whom she had taken outside to wait in a car as the pair argued, according to prosecutors.
“You have to come get the kids right now,” Lagrone allegedly said, according to the Tribune. “I’m going to jail for the rest of my life.”
In addition to attempted murder, Lagrone faces charges for aggravated battery involving the discharge of a firearm and aggravated domestic battery. Her bail was set at $1.5 million.
“Just days removed from Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, we are faced with this tragic shooting of a young man near Naperville,” Sheriff James Mendrick said in a statement. “Domestic violence cases are up in DuPage County, nearly 50 percent over this same period last year and this cannot be tolerated.”
Lagrone is set to return to court on Dec. 7. If convicted of attempted murder, she may face up to life in prison.