BURLINGTON, Connecticut — State police have charged a Harwinton man in connection with the 2023 death of 17-year-old Sophie Ringquist.
Officials charged 19-year-old Cooper Oullette with first-degree manslaughter after an investigation revealed that Ringquist died during a domestic violence incident with Oullette.
According to Oullette's arrest warrant, he and Ringquist were at a party in Terryville in May 2023. While at the party, witnesses reported seeing Oullette and Ringquist "engaged in multiple incidents of physical domestic violence," according to the warrant.
Oullette, who was 18 at the time, had also reportedly drunk alcohol and had alcohol in his Chevrolet Silverado truck in a cooler, and some drinks were distributed at the party.
After Oullette and Ringquist left, data showed Oullette was driving his truck "erratically" while Ringquist was in the front seat. Police said Oullette was speeding, braking hard, accelerating hard, revving his engine, and squealing his tires.
According to the warrant, at one point, Oullette turned off Route 72 while heading back to Ringquist's home and pulled off to a side road. At this point, Ringquist reportedly began filming on her iPhone. While filming, she tried getting out of the truck. Oullette then accelerated, and she was knocked to the ground. It was at this point Ringquist texted an acquaintance that she was scared and then got back in Oullette's truck as they headed to Ringquist's neighborhood.
Officials said Oullette was still driving erratically in Ringquist's neighborhood drove past her home, and didn't drop her off. At this point in time, Ringquist took two photos of her face to show her injuries. Moments before the fatal incident, Ringquist reportedly sent one of the photos to a "close friend," the warrant stated.
Oullette then drove past Ringquist's home a second time without dropping her off despite her injuries. Just after this second pass, Ringquist allegedly fell from Oullette's truck on a nearby road.
Oullette stated to police that Ringquist had said she had to vomit moments before and jumped out of the truck before he could stop it. Oullette reportedly told police that he "stoved the brakes" the moment she left the vehicle and stopped within three feet.
Instead, investigators found that Oullette accelerated when she was outside the truck, causing her to get crushed by one of the truck's tires. Officials said that after Oullette eventually stopped, he went back to drag her body to the truck. Oullette reportedly did not call 911 or any emergency services, didn't drive directly back to Ringquist's home, and stayed at the scene for eight minutes.
Investigators also said that a nearby door camera captured a conversation from inside Oullette's truck seconds before the fatal incident, and Ringquist was not heard stating she was going to vomit or that she was sick.
Once Oullette got back to Ringquist's home, and despite Ringquist's injuries, police said he did not immediately summon help from the family and instead took time to position her in the front seat of his truck.
It was after that Oullette ran into the home. Ringquist's family rushed her to Bristol Hospital, where she was pronounced dead from her injuries less than an hour later.
The hospital notified Bristol police, who then notified state police, who launched the investigation.
The Ringquist family said in a statement, “As Sophie’s family we would like to thank the state police and all other entities that worked tirelessly over the past fourteen months to find out what happened to her and brought charges against the person responsible for her death. We implore anyone who has been a victim of or witness to domestic violence to stand up for the victim and report it to the police. We would like to thank all friends, family, and people Sophie had an impact on for their continued prayers as we negotiate this part of the process in our continued search for truth and justice for Sophie.”
Ringquist was a junior at Lewis Mills High School at the time of her death. In a letter to the school community, Superintendent Howard Thiery said that the loss was "an unthinkable tragedy" for the family, her friends, and the whole community.
Oullette was charged with first-degree manslaughter and providing alcohol to minors. He turned himself into Troop L on July 12 where he was taken into custody and then released on a $50,000 bond.
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Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
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