Boyfriend charged with murder in Hillyard shooting

Cameron Keith has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the fatal shooting of his girlfriend in a Hillyard apartment on March 24. Police believe Keith, 28, shot his girlfriend, Christen DeMars, 22 in the stomach at an upstairs apartment at 2928 E. Diamond Ave. before fleeing the scene. Keith was arrested April 1 on a Department of Corrections warrant, and has been housed in the Benton County jail. Prosecutors filed charges against Keith late Tuesday in district court. 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 with heroin and awoke to the sound of a gunshot. He speculated that DeMars may have rolled on to 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. Court documents say Keith and a downstairs neighbor both called 911 and reported DeMars had been shot. 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. She was transported to Holy Family Hospital, where medics later discovered a gunshot wound in her abdomen. She died at the hospital from the wound. 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 domestic violence homicide in Spokane this year. Keith also faces charges for 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.