St. Paul man admits killing girlfriend while he held their baby

A 22-year-old St. Paul man pleaded guilty Thursday to shooting and killing his girlfriend as he held their 3-month-old daughter.

Dimitri Devonte Harrell admitted shooting his girlfriend, Samirria White, 19, in the face with a handgun while the two were arguing in their bedroom early on the morning of April 5, Easter Sunday. Police were called to the apartment in the 800 block of Pierce Butler Route about 3:40 a.m. and found White's body in the bedroom. Harrell had fled. White was pronounced dead at the scene.

Several friends and relatives were in the apartment and heard the couple arguing before hearing a gunshot. According to the criminal complaint, family members and other witnesses in the apartment told police that Harrell and White argued after Harrell returned home late.

White had told Harrell that she wanted to break up, witnesses said.

After Harrell turned himself in, he claimed he had accidentally shot White when he tried to pull his handgun from his pocket while holding their baby. But White's then-16-year-old brother told police he was sleeping in the living room when he was awakened by people arguing. He said that he heard his sister tell Harrell, "Don't point that gun at me!" — and that Harrell hollered back.

Others told police they'd seen Harrell with the gun when he came into the apartment that night. According to the complaint, Harrell often kept the gun hidden under the mattress of the baby's crib. Another gun, a rifle, was under the mattress of his and White's bed, prosecutors said.

Police found the gun on Harrell's friend, who also was at the apartment at the time of the shooting. The man, identified in the complaint as a "close friend," told police that Harrell had given him the gun after shooting White and said, "Do something with this."