UPDATE: Rockford man charged with murder of 19-year-old woman

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Rockford Police arrested Douglas Bell, 20, for first-degree murder on May 8th.

On Tuesday, around 5:49 p.m., police responded to the 4900 block of Linden Road for a report of a gunshot victim. When officials arrived they found the victim and identified her as 19-year-old Elizabeth Beasley.

Bell called 911 and told operators that he had been in an argument with Beasley, his baby’s mother, because she accused him of cheating. Bell told police that he was checking on his daughter when he heard a bang. He came out of the bedroom and found that she had shot herself in the face, according to court documents.

Two other women were on the scene as well and police took all three of them for questioning at the District 2 police station.

Bell said that he invited one of the women over for dinner with him and Beasley around 2 a.m. and she stayed the night, according to authorities. Bell explained to officials that she left around 4 p.m.

Bell said he had a preplanned date with the other woman on the scene at 4:30 p.m. that ended up not happening because the restaurant they drove to was closed. Before he left, Bell claimed he noticed the handgun on the couch and was it was unloaded. The woman dropped him off and left immediately, according to officials.

Bell claimed when he was back in the apartment, he noticed that the handgun was loaded with a magazine. He said that Beasley and he started to argue when she grabbed a wooden spoon and hit his dog with it, police said.

Bell explained he grabbed the wooden spoon from her and also grabbed her by the neck to push her away. Bell claimed that he heard his child crying, so he went to check on his child when he heard the bang, according to court documents.

The suspect said that his fingerprints would be on the gun because he was keeping it for a friend who was supposed to come get it, according to police.

Police executed a search warrant for an apartment in the 4900 block of Linden Road. Upon inspection of Beasley’s body, officials said her body appeared to have fresh bruising on her neck that would have been caused by strangulation and fresh bruising on her upper left arm that would have been caused by a wooden paddle inside the apartment.

Beasley was pronounced deceased by the Winnebago County Coroner’s Office staff at 6:45 p.m. on Tuesday. The autopsy revealed that she had died from a gunshot wound.

Bell was taken into custody and lodged in the Winnebago County Jail and has been charged with first-degree murder.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyStateline | WTVO News, Weather and Sports.