An Alaska man tried to take his life. But the bullet passed through him and killed his girlfriend.
Victor Sibson does not remember what happened the night he put a gun to his head, he told police.
Shortly after 2 a.m. April 19, the 21 year-old Anchorage man held a handgun to his left temple as he stood in the apartment he shared with his girlfriend, Brittany-Mae Haag. She attempted to grab the gun and stop him from taking his own life, prosecutors believe.
Police would later find both Sibson and Haag lying on the floor with gunshot wounds, and only one shell casing on the ground, Assistant District Attorney James Fayette told The Washington Post. Prosecutors believe the bullet that struck Sibson in the head just behind his left eye then hit Haag in the chest as she reached over to him.
Fayette, who has been a prosecutor in Anchorage since 1993, said he has never seen a one-shot case such as this one.
Its just compelling and tragic all the way around, he said.
After the shooting, Haag, 22, managed to walk to a neighbors door to ask for help. The neighbor, Gary Hutson, followed her back to her apartment, cracked the door open and saw Sibson lying on the floor as Haag faltered, he told a local television station.
Haag died later that morning as Sibson was treated for life-threatening injuries. He ultimately survived and was released from the hospital within a couple of weeks, the district attorney said.
Sibson was cogent enough to speak to authorities a week after the incident. He told police he remembered buying the gun, but did not remember anything about the shooting itself, the prosecutor said.
Authorities said his blood alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit at the time of the incident.
Last week, Sibson was charged with one count of second-degree murder on the grounds that he showed extreme indifference to the value of life.
A grand jury indicted him, and a warrant was issued for his arrest before he turned himself in Friday. If convicted, Sibson could face up to 99 years in prison. Bail has been set at $250,000.