A Wisconsin man, aged 25, is facing a life sentence for the murder of his 74-year-old grandmother. Sean C. Couture was sentenced by Waukesha County Circuit Judge J. Arthur Melvin III to 26 years to life in a state correctional facility for the 2024 murder of Nancy Lovejoy, according to court documents. Couture had shot his grandmother to prevent her from reporting his possession of a firearm to the police.
Couture struck a deal with the prosecution, pleading guilty to one count of first-degree intentional homicide with a domestic abuse modifier. As part of the agreement, additional charges of non-compliance with an officer and operating a firearm while intoxicated were dropped. The judge acknowledged Couture’s 388 days of time already served.
The Waukesha Police Department responded to a call about gunshots in the Douglass Avenue area, approximately 20 miles west of Milwaukee, at around 8:32 p.m. on August 25, 2024. The call was made by Couture’s parents, who were vacationing out of state. They had received a distressing call from their son, who confessed to shooting his grandmother and expressed intentions of shooting himself.
Upon arrival, the police found Couture barricaded inside the house. Using a drone, they spotted what seemed to be a lifeless adult female body on the basement stairs. A rescue team entered the house and removed the victim, later identified as Lovejoy, once Couture had retreated to a bedroom. Lovejoy was rushed to a local hospital, where she was declared dead due to multiple gunshot wounds.
Police, with the assistance of a K-9 unit, managed to enter the house and apprehend Couture. His blood alcohol content was recorded at 0.45, over five times the legal limit for driving. A handgun, multiple magazines, and a receipt dated June 4, 2024, for the purchase of the firearm were found in the house.
At the hospital, Couture agreed to speak with the police. He inquired about his grandmother and repeatedly mentioned her being shot, despite the police only informing him of her injury and death. Couture confessed to shooting his grandmother after an argument over the firearm in his room. He believed she intended to report him to the police. He also admitted to moving her body inside the house onto the basement stairs, not wanting to leave her outside, and to consuming alcohol before and after the incident.