Natosha Gaines.
Anthony Valeriano kept a Navy Colt .44 caliber replica pistol loaded “for home defense purposes,” he said. The second time he ever pulled its trigger, a bullet entered his girlfriend’s skull, and killed her.
Valeriano, 52, told that story to police investigating a homicide that took place last October on Quinnipiac Ave.
His version of what happened that night is contained in a police report filed in court this week — as he was charged with first-degree manslaughter in the death of a 44-year-old certified nurse’s assistant and mother of three named Natosha Gaines, with whom he had been in a romantic relationship for a year.
Police arrested the man on Tuesday. Valeriano has yet to enter a plea in the case. He is being held on $300,000 bond, according to the state judicial database.
The police report, written by Detective Daniel Conklin, offers the following account of the case:
Valeriano himself called 911 on Oct. 17, 2020, at 11:43 p.m.
“Oh my God,” Valeriano told the dispatcher. “I need a 911 please. I need an ambulance. My girlfriend, my girl, got shot in the head.”
After he provided the address, the dispatchers asked him what happened.
“I don’t know. It’s a relic pistol. She was in the bathroom and I walked in … and the trigger slipped and it hit her. It hit her right in the head,” he said, sobbing.
Valeriano’s 15-year-old son then took the phone and asked his dad if Gaines was breathing. “No, she’s not breathing,” Valeriano can be heard saying in the background.
The boy flagged down arriving officers and led them to the third floor of the apartment, where they found Valeriano over the woman’s lifeless body, which was lying next to the .44 caliber revolver in a blood-spattered bathroom.
A 12-year-old son of Valeriano was also present.
Gaines was pronounced dead at the scene.
In subsequent interviews, Valeriano stated Gaines had been sitting on the toilet when he was “cleaning the revolver and walked into the bathroom to get a tissue.” He tripped, and “the gun accidentally discharged,” he stated.
Police did find napkins on the bed and dresser inside the bedroom. However, “there did not appear to be any urine or feces in the toilet,” according to the police report. “The bedroom appeared to be in general disarray. The bed was unmade and the bedroom was very cluttered.”
An autopsy by the state Chief Medical Examiner James Gill found that the bullet entered the left side of Gaines’ head and through her brain. He found that the “firearm was in contact, or within very close proximity, with” Gaines’ head when the fatal bullet was fired. He ruled the death a homicide.
He also reported that her bladder contained five fluid ounces of clear urine at the time of her death.
A neighbor and relative subsequently told detectives that she often heard the couple “arguing loudly” and that the relationship involved a history of domestic violence. Valeriano’s teen sons told detectives that the couple would argue, but the sons did not see any violence. Valeriano told cops he and Gaines would argue, but he denied the arguments ever turned violent.
As for the Colt .44, Valeriano told detectives that he had shot it “only once, years ago. “He “stated that the firearm is kept in a box near the side of the bed.”
Valeriano’s next scheduled court date is Aug. 3.
Poor Natosha. I am sickened by this story since a loaded gun was kept unlocked "for home defense purposes", and someone else pays the price. For a young person to witness this shooting and still have the ability to direct emergency responders..........Wow !!!!!!!!
Good detective work by having the shooter acknowledge he was there and fired the weapon by giving him the out of "I tripped and fell." Hopefully the jury will see through it if he doesn't plead.
I don't own a firearm, however I don't object to those who do. If my partner ever brings a gun into our home I can see myself asking this question:
Me: Ummm.....what is that for? I didn't know you hunt. You never told me.
Them: I don't. Its for home defense purposes.
Me: Have you ever fired it before?
Them: Once
Me: Okie dokie. Can we talk about this for a bit? Just exactly who are you planning to defend us from?