Atravius Weeks Now Faces 1st-Degree Charges In Murder Of Ex Outside Lakeville Day Care
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - A grand jury in Dakota County indicted a 32-year-old Richfield man in the fatal shooting of Cortney Henry, 29, outside of a Lakeville day care center.
Atravius Joseph Weeks previously faced one count of intentional second-degree murder, and now faces two first-degree murder charges, along with the second-degree charge.
Weeks is currently being held at the Dakota County Jail, on $2 million bail. He is set to appear in court next week in Hastings.
According to the criminal complaint filed earlier, a woman had called Belle Plaine police around 1:15 a.m. on Tuesday to report a protection order violation at her apartment. She said her ex-boyfriend, later identified as Weeks, was pounding on the walls of her building.
She reported that he had a gun and feared she would die if he was able to get inside the building. She also said that Weeks had messaged her, saying he had shot himself.
Later, the woman told police that Weeks had said that on June 16, he and Henry had broken up.
Officers arrived on scene to find the silver Audi Weeks had arrived in parked in the lot. He had fled on foot before their arrival.
The complaint goes on to say that the officers found a large amount of blood inside the car, as well as a 9mm casing in the passenger seat. When they followed the blood trail, they found that the door handle to a utility room on the far side of the building had been damaged and the key card access reader to the apartment had been pulled off the wall.
Police then spoke to Weeks on the phone, who agreed to meet them back at the apartment. He came carrying a 9mm handgun and told officers he had shot himself. Weeks complied with officers' commands to drop the weapon.
While the officers were treating his wound and waiting for medics, Weeks allegedly said "I just killed my best friend." He admitted that Henry was outside a day care facility in Lakeville and he had shot her seven times.
Officers were then dispatched to the Lakeville day care, where they found Henry's body and nine shell casings.
If you are in an abusive relationship, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. All calls are free and confidential. You can also call 360 Communities, which serves Dakota County at 952-985-5300 or online at www.360Communities.org.