Neighbors heard arguing before ‘tragic killing’ in Belleville apartment building
The man charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a woman in Belleville Sunday had said shortly before the shooting that he had shot someone before and that he could do it again, according to the prosecutor.
This information was part of the “voluminous” amount of evidence that St. Clair County Associate Judge Sara L. Rice said she considered in ruling Wednesday that 35-year-old Demario N. Bush of Belleville should remain in the St. Clair County Jail until his trial in the shooting death of his girlfriend, Megan L. Born, 36.
Before Belleville police officers found Born shot in her apartment on Ben Louis Drive Sunday night, neighbors had heard people arguing in the apartment, according to statements St. Clair County Assistant State’s Attorney Levi Carwile presented to Rice during a pretrial detention hearing for Bush.
Born’s 9-year-old daughter had left the apartment before the shooting, Carwile said.
Rice called Born’s death a “tragic killing.”
The prosecution also told Rice that neighbors heard muffled sounds that may have been gunshots and that the sound of arguments had stopped after the apparent gunshots.
Police responded at 11:12 p.m. to a call regarding a domestic disturbance at the apartment and saw Bush on a couch with Born, who was unconscious and had apparent gunshot wounds in her chest. She was pronounced deceased in the apartment.
Officers also found a gun in the apartment.
Bush was represented by St. Clair County Public Defender Cathy MacElroy, who said Bush has an adult child.
Along with the murder charge, Bush also was charged with felon in possession/use of a firearm while on parole. Charging documents allege he possessed a .40-caliber Hi-Point pistol.
As part of the state’s revamped criminal justice system that ended cash bail on Sept. 18, judges now conduct detention hearings to determine whether someone should remain in jail until their trial on serious charges such the ones filed against Bush.
This is the first murder reported in Belleville this year. Last year, there were three homicides in the city and two were reported in 2022.
