Anthony Ray Vines, Jr., age 41, of Stamford, was charged on Friday, Oct. 6 with one count of manslaughter with a firearm for the homicide of Mary Stephanie Guirand.
Guirand was 36 years old at the time of her death, said Capt. Tom Scanlon of the Stamford Police.
According to Scanlon, Vines and Guirand were in a domestic relationship, on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022, when the Stamford Emergency Dispatch Center received a 911 phone call from a man, who was later identified as Vines, stating that he had shot his girlfriend and indicated that he believed she was dead.
An initial investigation confirmed that Guirand had been shot by Vines one time, under the chin, during what Vines described as a heated argument over the payment of a bill, Scanlon said.
"Vines has maintained that the shooting was an accident and that he had armed himself with a gun to stop Guirand from attempting to slash him with a kitchen knife," Scanlon said.
Both the knife and gun were recovered from the scene in the vicinity of Guriand’s body.
A long-term investigation based on forensic evidence revealed several inconsistencies with Vines’ version of the events. Vines, a convicted felon, has been in the custody of the state Department of Correction since the homicide occurred, stemming from the related charge of criminal possession of a firearm.
Vines’ bond for the firearm possession has remained at $500,000, while the court set bond for the manslaughter charge is an additional $500,000.
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