Multiple news outlets have received an arrest warrant for a man in Connecticut who is accused of running over his 17-year-old girlfriend with his truck last year. The incident is being called “domestic violence” by the police.
The warrant says that 19-year-old Cooper Oullette is charged with first-degree manslaughter and giving alcohol to a child in connection with the death of Sophie Ringquist, who was 17 years old. The Hartford Courant, WTIC-TV, and WFSB all reported on the charges.
The order says that Oullette turned himself into Connecticut State Police on July 12 and was freed on a $50,000 bond. It was planned for him to go to court on July 15. It’s not clear if he has made a plea or hired a lawyer to speak for him.
Investigators began their work on May 21, 2023, when Ringquist was taken to Bristol Hospital in Bristol, Connecticut, by family members. They said she had fallen out of her boyfriend’s Chevy pickup truck in Burlington, Connecticut, earlier that same day. She later passed away from her wounds.
According to the warrant, Oulette, who was 18 at the time, and Ringquist were at a party in Terryville before the alleged incident. There, a witness told WTIC-TV that the two were “engaged in multiple incidents of physical domestic violence.” The warrant says Oulette drank booze, kept some in his truck, and gave some out at the party. The police said the couple was “on-again, off-again” in a romance.
According to the warrant shown by WTIC-TV, the couple then left together in Oulette’s truck that night after he reportedly stopped her from getting another ride home. Police said Oulette was driving “erratically” and that he stopped on a side road and used his phone to record Ringquist. In the video, Rinquist is seen trying to get out of the truck while Oullette speeds up and hits the girl, causing her to fall.
The order the Hartford Courant used says that Ringquist then texted someone and said, “I’m scared.” The police think that’s when Oulette got back in her truck with Ringquist and drove toward her house. But Oulette’s truck is said to have been seen speeding through the girl’s area based on cell phone data and witness statements. According to the request, Ringquist sent a picture of herself to someone that showed she had a cut on her face and a bloody nose.
Based on the order shown by WTIC-TV, investigators think that Oullette sped up while Ringquist was outside the truck, crushing her under one of the tires. After that, he dropped her off at home. The outlet said that Oulette first told police that Ringquist fell from the truck because she felt like she had to throw up and that he stopped the truck before she fell.
The death notice for Ringquist says she died “as a result of a senseless accident” on May 21, 2023. In her death notice, she was called a passionate young woman who was going to finish Lewis Mills High School a semester early and go to college to study construction management.
Ringquist’s family thanked police for their hard work in the case in a statement given to NBC Connecticut.
Part of the statement said, “We urge anyone who has been a victim of or seen domestic violence to stand up for the victim and call the police.” «We want to thank all of Sophie’s friends, family, and people she touched for their continued thoughts as we go through this part of the process. We are still looking for Sophie’s truth and justice.
