“I go and fix the baby gate and the next thing I know I hear the gunshot,” Hatfield said. “I run in there. There she is, bent over bleeding.”
Paramedics pronounced Estepp dead at the scene of the couple’s home at 739 W. Mulberry St. Hatfield was arrested in Tipp City on Sept. 21. He’s been charged with felony counts of reckless homicide, tampering with evidence, weapons under disability and drug abuse.
But Hatfield said he had nothing to do with Estepp’s death, nor does he believe she committed suicide.
“I just don’t think all these people understand, you know? I mean, to be honest with you, I have nightmares every single night,” Hatfield said.
Estepp had three children, one of whom was upstairs at the time of the shooting, according to police reports. The children have been placed with relatives.
While friends described the couple’s relationship as rocky — and Hatfield married another woman Sept. 16 — he said he was “the happiest man in the world” with Estepp.
“No other relationship compared to it,” he said. “I got a tattoo on me that says ‘Property of Lori Diane The Boss.’ ”
Despite his protests of innocence, friend and neighbor Missy Turton said she “seen everything,” as she was one of the people trying to help Estepp after the shooting. “Someone needs to get out the truth of what happened there upstairs,” Turton said. “Because I lived it. I watched that girl die.”
Hatfield’s criminal history spans Clark, Montgomery and Greene counties and includes several cases of domestic violence, assault, aggravated menacing and disorderly conduct, according to court records.
No trial date has been set. He remains in the Clark County Jail on $50,000 bond.
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