A Duluth man who initially told police he found his mother dead inside their home later admitted to shooting her, according to investigators. Nathan Douglas Davin, 46, was charged Tuesday with intentional second-degree murder in the death of his 74-year-old mother, Mae Dean Davin.
Authorities said the fatal shooting occurred Saturday night at their East Hillside residence. Court filings allege Mae Dean was asleep in a recliner when she was shot once in the face at close range. The home at 1511 N. Ninth Ave. E, which she owned, became the scene of a disturbing discovery for officers responding to a late-night 911 call.
Investigators have not publicly identified a motive, but they noted Davin’s erratic behavior and found the words “go to hell” spray-painted inside the house, along with “several other satanic symbols and phrases”, Duluth News Tribune reported.
According to court documents, Davin knocked on a neighbor’s door around 10:50 p.m. Saturday and mentioned a fatality. A house sitter called 911, reporting that Davin appeared intoxicated and was only wearing boxers. Before officers arrived, Davin called the neighbor again, saying, “My mom’s dead. She blew her head off.”
Police encountered him on the porch and noticed blood on his hands. He claimed, “I found my mom f—ing dead,” insisting he had woken up to the scene. Inside, officers discovered Mae Dean slumped in a recliner with a “devastating gunshot wound.” A spent shell casing was nearby, though no gun was found at the scene.
A search of the home uncovered several firearms. Two pistols were in Davin’s upstairs bedroom, including a Glock 9 mm with apparent blood on it. Ammunition matching the weapon, along with the shell casing and bullet recovered downstairs, tied the weapon to the shooting.
After being placed in a patrol car, Davin reportedly muttered, “wake up to bulls—” and “there went my life.” He later requested an attorney, but a recording captured him saying, “God damn it, I killed my mother.”
Assistant St. Louis County Attorney Kirstyn Oye told the court the victim “was positioned in her recliner in a way that indicated she was sleeping” when shot. Judge Eric Hylden granted prosecutors’ request for $750,000 unconditional bail and denied supervised release.
Court records show Davin’s prior history includes impaired driving offenses and a 2005 domestic assault charge that was dropped when he pleaded guilty to interfering with a 911 call. MaeDean Davin was described as a “kind hearted soul” in a GoFundMe set up for her granddaughter. She worked as an educator at Summit School in Duluth for three years, an administrator for the school wrote on social media following her death.
His next court appearance is set for Sept. 15 before Chief Judge Leslie Beiers. The case is the third homicide reported in Duluth this year, with more than half of the city’s homicides in the past five years linked to domestic violence.