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Matthew Ivester fatally beat his girlfriend, Stephanie Long, to death, say deputies in Arapahoe County, Colorado. (Mug shot: Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office)
A Colorado man allegedly told investigators his girlfriend became unresponsive after she did some heavy drinking, but footage from their home told a different story.
Matthew Ivester, 37, shook Stephanie Long, 36, slapped her, and put his hand on her throat, said deputies out of Arapahoe County, Colorado. She complained about her head hurting and when she tried to call 911, he took the phone from her hand and stopped her when it appeared she tried to escape out the front door, documents stated.
Ivester did not realize the surveillance cameras inside the home were on during the alleged beating.
Long initially survived the Sept. 17 incident, but hospital staff described her prognosis in hopeless terms. With no brain activity, doctors said she was not going to survive her injuries and waited for her family to give permission to take her off life support.
Ivester was charged Sept. 21 with murder in the second degree, two counts of assault in the first degree, two counts of assault in the second degree, one count of assault in the third degree, and one count of harassment.
Deputies arrived at the couple’s home on South Ivy Way in the city of Centennial soon after midnight on Sept. 18. Ivester allegedly told varying stories about what happened.
“Yesterday was Stephanie’s deceased mother’s birthday and she had been drinking all day,” stated the affidavit, which paraphrased Ivester’s alleged statements. He allegedly suggested she may have also done crack cocaine.
On Sept. 17, he allegedly told police he returned from the grocery store at around 2;30 p.m. and Long stepped out to help him.
They started drinking alcohol while watching the Broncos play, with her possibly imbibing six shots of vodka.
At about 6 p.m. they began to argue, he allegedly claimed.
“While seated on the couch, Stephanie stood over him and headbutted him on the top of his head,” authorities wrote, paraphrasing his alleged statements. “He felt pain.”
He allegedly said he pushed her down to the couch and they continued to watch the game. She went to the master bedroom sometime during the third quarter, he allegedly claimed.
At approximately 11 p.m., he found her lying on the floor of the bedroom. He put her on the bed, not changing her clothes even though she had urinated on herself, according to his story in the affidavit.
About 10 minutes before his 911 call, he allegedly noticed she was snoring. It wasn’t unusual because of her sleep apnea, but she started to vomit. He put her on her side, and it was when she made gurgling sounds that he called 911.
The deputy noted the smell of alcohol on Ivester’s breath.
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Investigators said they questioned Ivester about the headbutting again after learning about Long’s grim prognosis.
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“[The defendant] attributed her behavior to multiple personalities,” authorities wrote. “He grabbed her arms and pulled her onto the couch.”
He allegedly said again that she walked into the master bedroom.
“When he found that Stephanie was not breathing,” they wrote. “He panicked and started shaking her, slapped her face two to three times, slapped her back and side in an attempt to wake her up, but was unsuccessful.”
The affiant later spoke again with Ivester, and though noting it was consistent with previous statements, the investigator noted exceptions, like the source of the couple’s argument (supposedly some corn falling from the refrigerator), where Long supposedly stood when she allegedly headbutted Ivester, and details about their physical contact. For example, Ivester allegedly said he grabbed her arm and around her neck to restrain her, and she may have hit something on the way down.
“He may have struck her today, but he cannot remember,” the affidavit stated. “He is not proud of this, but he has been physical with Stephanie in the past. She too has been physical with him in the past. He has put his hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming while attacking him.”
Investigators claimed to find footage inside of the home showing the couple yelling at each other and calling each other names on Sept. 17, with the argument turning physical at about 5:11 p.m. Ivester struck Long over the head twice with what seemed to be a pillow from the couch, documents stated.
Ivester allegedly grabbed her by the throat, asking her why she was screaming. He let go of her throat, but began to violently shake her, authorities said.
When Long referenced the cameras in the room, Ivester said they were not recording, according to documents.
Until 5:23 p.m., he shook her again, slapped her several times, and put a hand on her throat while Long was sitting on the couch, investigators wrote.
“At one point she does stand up and appears unsteady on her feet and starts to walk around,” authorities said. “It does appear she is bleeding from her mouth.”
Long complained about her head hurting and tried to call 911 through Google. Ivester allegedly said it was not possible but he did not call 911 on her behalf.
According to authorities, he took a phone from her hand.
“She also asks him to stop hitting her,” they wrote. “She also tried to possibly walk out the front door, but Matthew stops her.”
A doctor determined that Long had suffered a cardiac arrest and then fell into a coma.
“She was found to have a large right subdural hematoma, diffuse cerebral edema and herniation,” they wrote. Injuries included brain bleed and lack of oxygen going to the brain.
