A Poplar Bluff man was arrested Friday afternoon after his recent indictment on charges in connection with the shooting death of his girlfriend.
Michael Joseph Choate was arrested without incident at about 3:45 p.m., Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs said.
The 46-year-old was arrested on a warrant charging him with the Class A felony of second-degree murder, the unclassified felony of armed criminal action and Class E felony of unlawful use of a weapon.
The warrant reportedly was issued after a Butler County grand jury indicted Choate for the Aug. 8 death of 36-year-old Katrina Suiter, who authorities say died from a gunshot wound to the face.
Suiter was found dead on the couch inside a fifth-wheel camper trailer she and Choate were living in on the property in the 1300 block of County Road 476.
Choate, Dobbs said, was arrested at the camper. He subsequently was booked at the Butler County jail, where he is being held without bond.
At the time of Suiter’s death, Choate had alleged his girlfriend had shot herself while waving a handgun during an argument.
Based on autopsy results, the “trajectory of the bullet does not match the suspect’s account of what happened,” Butler County Coroner Andy Moore said earlier.
Both he and Dr. Russell Deidiker, who performed the autopsy, agree Suiter’s “wound does not appear to be self inflicted.”
Authorities learned of Suiter’s death just after 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 8, when they were called to the camper.
“The initial claim by Mr. Choate was that during an argument, the victim began waving a handgun around, and at some point, shot herself in the face,” Dobbs said earlier. “Cpl. (Derek). House believed that the position of the victim and the overall circumstance did not match up with Mr. Choate’s version.”
When Dobbs arrived on the scene, he said, his initial observations were “in step with Cpl. House in that the facts/evidence didn’t match Mr. Choate’s account of the events.
“ … At the scene, there were things that jumped out at me, such as the fact the victim appeared to be somewhat laid back on the couch.”
Dobbs said Suiter “died right there in that position. The position of the victim’s body seemed to indicate someone was on top of her when she was shot.”
Dobbs said it also was obvious there had been no attempt to stop the bleeding or render any kind of aid to Suiter.
Choate subsequently was taken to the Butler County Justice Center for further interviewing.
“During the interview, Mr. Choate never indicated that he shot the victim,” Dobbs said. “ … Although he never admitted to shooting her, he did admit to at least touching the gun, despite the fact that he denied earlier in the interview that he had touched the gun.”
Authorities described the firearm as being a .22-caliber automatic pistol.
Throughout the interview, Dobbs said, Choate had a “total lack of detail in his defense.
“When asked to describe how she was waving the gun around, he didn’t give good details” nor did he give details about the “things she was saying” or “why she was waving the gun around.”
Dobbs said Choate’s account of how the gun even showed up at the camper was vague.
“He said the victim purchased the gun … however, he did not know exactly when, from whom or where,” Dobbs said. “The problem I have with that statement, Mr. Choate is the person who handled the money in the relationship.”
Suiter, Dobbs said, had no job, income or transportation.
“For her to acquire a firearm and him to not know when or how, I find that really hard to believe,” Dobbs said.
As a convicted felon, Dobbs said, Suiter also was prohibited from possessing firearms.
“According to family members, the victim was not known to ever have guns or have a desire to have them,” Dobbs said.