Police: Couple's Heated Fight Ends With Fiancée Shot In The Chest
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PLANTATION (CBSMiami) – A Plantation man is behind bars, accused of shooting his fiancée in the chest and killing her.
Royce Teets, 46, allegedly shot Terri Coolidge with an AK-47 during an argument on Sunday, accord to his police report.
Coolidge's close friends told CBS4's Peter D'Oench they were stunned and had no idea that something like this would ever happen.
"She was just a loving caring person who was beautiful on the inside and the outside," said Ken Nichols. "This is very tragic what happened to her. She had two lovely kids who she just adored."
Jody Maginnis, Coolidge's longtime friend and hairdresser, added, "I was shocked I actually showed up at the house that morning. They were going to open up a business together and I was going to work for them. I can say Terry was a very special person. She was the kind of woman who was a spark plug. When she walked into a room, she lit it up. Everyone noticed her. She had a heart of gold."
The couple was at a home located at 251 West Tropical Way around 10:30 p.m. when police said Teets called police, saying, "She got shot...She's going to die."
Teets originally told police they were messing with a shotgun and it went off, police said.
Officers said Teets later changed the story saying he was cleaning the rifle and it accidentally discharged and it kept changing from there.
According to the police report, "He changed his story several times about the locations and who he was with."
At some point, while speaking with investigators, Teets "stated he was responsible for her death " and he accepted full responsibility "and if he goes to jail then that is what happens."
The report says Teets told police his fiancée was mad at him for communicating with and texting other women and she also accused him of being unfaithful.
In his fourth version of what happened, he told police that he was so angry with his fiancée that he grabbed the weapon from the closet and ran towards her and pointed the rifle at her and pulled the trigger. He said he just wanted her to stop breaking items in the house and stop hitting him. He said he only pulled the trigger to scare her.
Teets is now facing one charge of premeditated murder.
He was represented by an assistant public defender in bond court who told the judge that Teets had lived here for 18 years and had family in the area. She said he had never been arrested before and had business plans.
In bond court, Teets is heard to tell the judge, "We just opened up a business. IT Direct Solutions."
The judge said Teets would be held with no bond.