In the winter of 2016, a domestic dispute in a quiet northwest Las Vegas neighborhood escalated into a fatal encounter, leaving a 32-year-old man dead in his driveway. On the evening of February 10, Metro officers responded to a call at a residence on Sweeping Glen Street. There, they discovered the body of Aaron Matthews, who had sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the back.
His death was later ruled a homicide by the Clark County coroner's office.
Living at the home with Matthews was his girlfriend of four years, 54-year-old Catherine Brewington. The couple had reportedly been arguing, and Brewington was in the process of moving out. She told police that the argument turned physical, claiming Matthews had choked her. Brewington stated that she believed he was reaching for a weapon in his waistband, which prompted her to shoot him in the chest with a shotgun in self-defense.
However, the physical evidence at the scene contradicted Brewington's account of the events. Investigators found that Matthews had been shot in the back, not the chest as his girlfriend had claimed. A neighbor who witnessed the incident told police they saw the couple standing near a truck just before the shot was fired, but did not hear any yelling or fighting.
Based on the evidence that contradicted her self-defense claim, Catherine Brewington was arrested at the scene. She was subsequently booked into the Clark County Detention Center and faced a charge of open murder with a deadly weapon. Two shotguns were recovered from the garage of the home.
