DASSEL, Minn. — A Dassel man is charged with second-degree murder and child endangerment after prosecutors say he shot his wife in the head repeatedly as the couple's children watched.
The criminal complaint filed in Meeker County details the charges against 35-year-old Bryan William Demarais, who allegedly killed his wife the morning of Dec. 28 following an argument over alleged infidelity.
Meeker County deputies were dispatched to a home on the 22000 block of 713th Avenue after a 911 call from a man identified as Bryan Demarais, who allegedly told authorities "I would like to report a murder," and that he had shot his wife, identified by her sister in a GoFundMe account as Kayla Marie Demarais.
The complaint says Demarais continued to speak with dispatchers, reportedly detailing that he shot his wife repeatedly in the head with his .22 and requested that the couple's children be safely taken out of the house through a window as he did not want them to see anything. Prosecutors say the defendant said he would empty his pockets and be non-confrontational with law enforcement.
Responding deputies encountered Demarais walking out of the residence and took him into custody without incident. They found Kayla inside the home with at least one apparent gunshot wound to the head and no pulse. She was declared dead on the scene.
Two children, an 11-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl, were found in a bedroom and safely removed from the home.
Prosecutors say after being read his rights, Demarais reportedly told investigators about an argument he and Kayla had the night before the shooting about their financial problems and an alleged extramarital affair she was having. Demarais said the argument continued the following morning after he found texts from his wife's boyfriend on her phone. Before he left for work, the defendant reportedly told the children he and their mother were getting a divorce because she was cheating.
Detectives interviewed the children who reportedly told them their father returned to the house after his work supervisor told him to go home. The 11-year-old boy said his parents had a big argument, and he saw his father with the semi-automatic .22 in his hands while standing in the kitchen. The kids said they were playing a video game in the bedroom when they heard gunshots, looked through the door and saw their mother fall to the ground.
The complaint says a bullet hole was later found in the wall of one of the children's bedrooms.
Prosecutors say an autopsy of the victim showed multiple gunshots to Kayla Demarais's head and back, with the manner of death ruled a homicide.
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