Lakeville man faces upgraded murder charges in ex-girlfriend's death

A Lakeville man is facing upgraded murder charges in the June 22 shooting death of his ex-girlfriend.

A grand jury indicted Atravius J. Weeks, 32, on two counts of first-degree murder and a charge of second-degree intentional murder in the death of his ex-girlfriend, Cortney G. Henry, 29, who was found dead outside a Lakeville day care. The grand jury delivered the indictment on Friday, according to a news release.

Weeks is being held in the Dakota County jail with bail set at $2 million. In June, he was charged in Dakota County District Court with second-degree intentional murder.

According to the criminal complaint: A woman, who was not Henry, called 911 about 1:15 a.m. on June 22 because Weeks was pounding on a door outside her apartment building in Belle Plaine, violating a court order for protection.

The woman said he was outside with a gun and she feared for her life. She added that Weeks messaged her saying that he had shot himself.

Police arrived and saw Weeks' car, but he fled on foot. Officers saw "a significant amount of blood" in the car and a bullet casing on the front passenger seat.

A trail of blood led police to the apartment's back entry, where there was evidence that Weeks had tried to force his way inside before he fled. The complaint did not say where or when Weeks encountered Henry.

Later, officers reached Weeks by phone and he agreed to return to the apartment parking lot, where he dropped a handgun and complied with officers.

Weeks allegedly told police, "I just killed my best friend."

He admitted that he had killed Henry about an hour earlier and told police her body was in a Lake­ville day-care parking lot. Police recovered Henry's body with several gunshot wounds. Nine shell casings were nearby.

Alex Chhith • 612-673-4759