Suspect in girlfriend's murder shoots self in head as Detroit police moved in for arrest

DETROIT (FOX 2) - The boyfriend of a murdered woman is the person of interest in the crime, he then shot himself before police arrested him in Detroit.

"I just have so many questions, I just want to ask so many questions on why you killed my mother," said Wydale Gilchrist. "Because she was our queen, we loved her."

Wydale and Dynasty Gilchrist are mourning the loss of their mother Latrina and they are getting little relief that the suspect in her death is at death’s doorstep himself.

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"I feel like he’s just going out the coward way to be honest," Wydale said, "Just go ahead serve your sentence. We need justice for her."

Detroit Police tracked down the person of interest in Latrina Gilchrist’s murder to Pete’s Grill on the city’s east side Monday afternoon.

Officers watched him until they could get their Special Response Team in place to arrest him.

DPD Assistant Police Chief Charles Fitzgerald explained what happened next.

"The SRT team came in and put the Bearcat directly in front of his vehicle, and just as they were about to open their side door of the vehicle, our suspect attempted to take his own life," he said.

The man shot himself in the head but survived.  He was rushed to a local hospital where he is in critical condition.

Police are not releasing his name because his family has not yet been notified about what happened, and he has not been charged with a crime.

Investigators had been looking for him since Saturday — when they discovered Latrina Gilchrist’s body riddled with bullets while performing a welfare check at her Palmer Park apartment.

They quickly identified him as a person of interest, saying he took her firearm and truck after the shooting.

Dynasty and Wydale Gilchrist say their mother was in a relationship with him for roughly a decade.

"This man been around our family, holidays, birthdays, you know, played with my nieces and nephews - which is her grandchildren," Wydale said.

"My kids call him 'Papa,' they asked about him every time we were on the phone with her," Dynasty said. "I’m angry, I’m very upset, I’m hurt, I’m devastated."

Dynasty and Wydale had just celebrated their mother’s 50th birthday last Monday.

Now they’re planning her funeral.  And the man suspected in her death is one whom their mother had done so much for.

"All she did was uplift him, help him get on his feet," Dynasty said.

"It’s like a slap in the face," Wydale added.

"All we can do is focus on our healing going forward," Dynasty said. "And pray he gets the justice he deserves."

If you have any information on what happened, call Detroit police at (313) 267-4600 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP. 

A GoFundMe page has been set up for Latrina's family. 

Victim Latrina Gilchrist.