Man police say shot and killed his girlfriend gives three versions of her death

Thursday, June 19, 2014

photo Taylor Satterfield
Map

Killing

Killing

A 20-year-old Chattanooga man who police say shot and killed his girlfriend in her apartment last month told police three different stories about how the mother of his two children died.

During a preliminary hearing in Hamilton County General Sessions Court on Tuesday, Chattanooga police Detective Matthew Puglise testified that Jeremy Satterfield first told him that his girlfriend Keiara Patton, 20, texted him on May 12 that she was kicking him out of her apartment.

Satterfield told Puglise that the next morning he went to 804 W. 14th St. in College Hill Courts to find Patton dead on her kitchen floor.

Then Puglise told Satterfield that they'd found his .40-caliber Springfield semi-automatic pistol beneath a manhole cover near the crime scene and a witness had seen Satterfield put it there.

So Satterfield told Puglise another story.

He came to Patton's apartment upset over the breakup, holding his gun in his hand and then pointed it to his own head. Thinking Satterfield was suicidal, Patton struggled with him, pulling the gun away.

The gun fired and Patton died.

But just as the police interview was about to end, Puglise testified, Satterfield said he had to tell the detective something.

What really happened was he came to the apartment and Patton was acting crazy. She rushed him with a kitchen knife and he fired in self-defense.

Whether any version of Satterfield's story was true, Patton ended up with a bullet in her right temple and died a short time later at Erlanger hospital.

Satterfield visited the hospital before Patton died. He didn't learn of her death until he was interviewed by Puglise.

Sessions Court Judge Lila Statom found enough in the testimony of Puglise to send Satterfield's charges to the grand jury for a possible indictment.

Satterfield remains in custody pending a bond hearing, if he is indicted. He faces charges of criminal homicide, domestic aggravated assault, unlawful possession of weapon and tampering with evidence.

Contact staff writer Todd South at tsouth@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow him on Twitter @tsouthCTFP.

Previous news report: