- May 6, 2024
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After almost two years, a woman who was shot in the head in 2021 has recently died due to complications of the injury.
The woman's then-boyfriend, Brenan Robert Hill, 33, was charged with attempted second-degree murder in connection to her shooting. With the victim's death due to the injuries, Hill's charges have been upgraded to second-degree murder, according to a press release from the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.
“Unfortunately, the victim never recovered from her injuries. We extend our deepest condolences to the victim’s family whose lives were permanently altered nearly two years ago," Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said.
The Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the victim’s cause of death as complications of a gunshot wound to the head, the press release said.
"I applaud our entire team, including our Major Case Unit who investigated this difficult case. It is my hope he will spend a long time in prison for his actions that day and then trying to cover up his crime before getting the victim medical help,” Staly said.
Suspect Brenan Robert Hill had called 911 after the shooting, initially telling law enforcement that his girlfriend had been shot by a robber.
A 32-year-old man has been charged with attempted second-degree murder in connection with a March 26 shooting that injured his 22-year-old girlfriend in Palm Coast.
The suspect, Brenan Hill, had called 911 himself at 9:45 a.m. day of the shooting, saying he was driving to AdventHealth Palm Coast because his girlfriend had been shot in the head.
He told a dispatcher that someone had shot the victim after approaching his car from behind in an alleyway asking to buy weed. He said he didn't know where the shooter was.
At the same time, Hill's mother called the FCSO saying that Hill had been robbed and that the robber had shot his girlfriend: Hill had called his mother before calling 911.
Over and over, according to an FCSO news release, Hill's mother said her son was “32 years old and innocent.”
Deputies spoke with Hill when he arrived at the hospital.
He said he'd been staying with his girlfriend at the Microtel Inn and Suites on Kingswood Drive for two weeks, and that they'd planned to leave that day because the room was booked for Spring Break.
He said he and the victim drove to the Graham Swamp West Trailhead parking lot and were trying to book another room when a black man approached the car and shot his girlfriend.
But the details of his story kept changing, and surveillance footage from traffic cameras and local businesses' security cameras contradicted his claims.
Deputies found that Hill had an active arrest warrant from Pennsylvania for a domestic violence charge, according to the news release. They took him into custody as a fugitive from justice. He was also charged with possession of hashish, marijuana, cocaine and drug paraphernalia.
The FCSO's Major Case Unit used technology to build the attempted murder case against Hill while he was in jail on the other charges. Detectives used digital evidence to recover the gun used in the shooting. Hill had hidden it in the bushes before calling 911.
The victim spent much time in a coma. She is now communicating, but still requires 24-hour care.
Detectives served Hill's arrest warrant on June 14 at the county jail.
“I want to thank our entire team, especially our investigative services division, and Real-Time Crime Center for their incredible work in finding the facts of this case,” Sheriff Rick Staly said, according to the news release. “This guy tried to cover-up his crime and hide the gun before he even called 911. He was not concerned with saving his girlfriend’s life, but instead saving his own skin and trying to avoid taking any responsibility for his actions. The victim is very fortunate to still be alive, but this attack will affect her the rest of her life.”
Hill has 19 previous charges in Florida and Pennsylvania for crimes including domestic violence, narcotics and theft.
Help is available for victims of domestic violence. For immediate help, dial 911 or the FCSO non-emergency line at 386-313-4911. For more information, visit https://familylifecenterflagler.org/.
