MARINETTE (NBC 26) — A $2 million cash bail was set on Thursday for a man accused of murdering his girlfriend in Marinette.
Robert Chilcote, 29, appeared in a Marinette County courtroom on Thursday morning. Additionally, Chilcote is not allowed to contact the victim's family or residence, no alcohol, no controlled substances and no firearms of any kind.
Gabriella Cartagena went missing on Feb. 4, after she was last seen at Red Arrow Park in Marinette. Shortly before her disappearance, police say she placed a call to her mother and was heard saying "don't shoot me."
In a news conference, the Marinette Police Department confirmed she had been found dead in a wooded area near Birch Creek Road in Menominee, Michigan.
Chilcote was arrested on Feb. 5 in Wright County, Minn., after a chase with police that authorities say reached speeds over 100 miles per hour. A deputy’s report included in the complaint says a loaded rifle was found in the vehicle, and Wisconsin investigators later reported being told multiple firearms and ammunition were recovered during a search of the car.
According to the criminal complaint, Chilcote told a Marinette detective, “it was an accident,” then said Cartagena was in Michigan. The complaint says Chilcote described an argument in the car, then he tried to scare her with a gun, and said the gun went off, striking her in the head.
Chilcote is due back in court on March 5.
