Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Deng Martin Auling, 20, was charged Friday with murder in a Millcreek apartment shooting.
- Police found Dominik Philip, 29, dead with a gunshot wound on March 9.
- Prosecutors say surveillance audio captured Auling admitting to the shooting, claiming it was accidental.
MILLLCREEK — A West Valley man was charged Friday with shooting and killing a man inside a Millcreek apartment, then threatening witnesses not to talk with police.
Deng Martin Auling, 20, is charged in 3rd District Court with murder, a first-degree felony; obstruction, a second-degree felony; and witness tampering, a third-degree felony.
Unified police were called to the Revolve Apartments, 808 W. 3940 South in Millcreek, on March 9 on a report of a possible suicide. Officers arrived to find Dominik Philip, 29, dead on the living room floor from a single gunshot wound.
Investigators conducted many interviews with those who were in the apartment at the time of the shooting and soon determined "that witnesses were providing inconsistent statements and different stories," according to charging documents.
Based on the evidence, police believe Philip was drinking with friends in the apartment. After he was shot, the friends took 20 minutes to call 911, the charges state.
Detectives also found a surveillance camera that recorded audio of the event, including "sounds consistent with a gun being racked by the slide and/or other mechanical operations on a firearm are heard," according to the charges. About 35 seconds later, "frantic conversations inside the apartment can be heard, and Auling can be heard saying, 'He not dead … he not dead, bruh … get up, you're not dead. … I gotta make a phone call … he not dead, bruh, … damn, bruh, … hello — I just killed (him) bruh.'"
Auling is also heard saying, "I'm going to do life, bruh. I already know it ... we was just playing around … it went off … we were just playing around … I'm trying to get out of here … I feel bad, bruh," the charges allege.
As officers attempted to interview several people in the apartment, Auling repeatedly tried to interfere, and at one point "made hand signals to (a witness) indicating he should stop talking," according to the charging documents. When officers told Auling to stop, he "yelled out to (the witness) that he 'should not say anything to the police.'"
After the shooting, Auling went into a bedroom where a friend was sleeping and claimed Philip shot himself while playing with a gun, the charges say.
During the autopsy, "a visible imprint or muzzle stamp (was found) around the wound, indicating a contact gunshot wound. The projectile entered the back," the cour documents state, while noting the autopsy concluded "the manner of death as homicide and the cause of death as contact gunshot wound of the back."
A handgun was found under the bathroom sink and was wet, as if someone had tried to wash it, police said.
