Van Buren Township Man Charged With Murder in Fatal Shooting of Girlfriend

A Van Buren Township man has been charged after allegedly shooting and killing his girlfriend during an argument at the apartment they shared.

According to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, Van Buren Township police were dispatched around 9:08 p.m. on Sept. 17 to an apartment in the 48500 block of the I-94 service drive for a reported shooting.

When officers arrived, they found 28-year-old Frances Beatty lying in a hallway of the apartment building with a gunshot wound to the chest. Medics rushed her to a local hospital, where she died from her injuries.

Prosecutors allege that an argument between Beatty and her boyfriend, 31-year-old Damarco Darnell Manns, escalated, and that Manns fired a handgun, fatally wounding her. The two were living together at the time of the shooting.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's office charged Manns with one count of second-degree murder, one count of discharging a firearm in or at a building causing death, and two counts of felony firearm.

Manns was arraigned Sept. 21 in 34th District Court, where Judge Lisa Martin denied bond and remanded him to jail. His attorney could not be reached for comment at the time of his arraignment.

A probable cause conference was scheduled for Sept. 29, with a preliminary examination set for Oct. 6, where a judge will weigh whether there is enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988.