Boyfriend charged in Hillyard killing
The boyfriend of a woman shot in her Hillyard apartment last month is now accused of killing her.
Cameron Keith, 28, was charged Tuesday with second-degree murder for the death of Christen DeMars, 22, on March 24.
Police believe Keith, who was arrested April 1 on a Department of Corrections warrant, shot DeMars in the stomach at an upstairs apartment at 2928 E. Diamond Ave. before fleeing the scene.
After his arrest, Keith admitted to police he was in the apartment with DeMars when she was shot, court documents show.
He said he nodded off after shooting up heroin and awoke to the sound of a gunshot. He speculated that DeMars may have rolled onto the gun, causing it to go off.
Police said in charging documents that the lack of gunpowder residue on DeMars’ belt and the bullet trajectory contradict Keith’s account.
Keith and a downstairs neighbor both called 911 and reported DeMars had been shot, according to court documents.
The neighbor later told police that after the shooting, a man ran down to his apartment, banged on the door and asked if he knew CPR. The neighbor said he tried to do CPR on DeMars before police arrived.
DeMars was unresponsive, vomiting and appeared to be overdosing on heroin when officers arrived on scene. Police at the scene strongly suspected she had been shot, but it wasn’t until she had been transported to Holy Family Hospital that medics confirmed she had a gunshot wound in her abdomen, court records say. DeMars died at the hospital.
At the hospital, DeMars’ mother told police Keith was an abusive boyfriend and said her daughter had been trying to leave the relationship. DeMars had a current no-contact order filed against Keith. The shooting is the second homicide in Spokane this year that police believe is related to domestic violence.
Keith also faces charges of burglary, violation of a no-contact order, unlawful possession of a firearm and cocaine possession. He will be transported back to Spokane from Benton County to appear in court.