Police: Woman accused of shooting boyfriend says she feared for life

By Ricardo Torres-Cortez

Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016 | 3:26 p.m.

A woman accused of fatally shooting her boyfriend inside a car on Sunday said she pulled the trigger because she feared for her life, according to a Metro Police report.

Cheryl Rheamount, 35, told detectives she and Matthew Bernardi, 32, were arguing in the car outside their apartment when he threatened to kill her and grabbed her by the head, police said.

Rheamount, who told police she had hidden a gun in the car because she had a “premonition” something bad was going to happen, said Bernardi ordered her into the backseat and started driving, the report said.

At some point, they parked in a desert area and she reached for the gun, which was under the front passenger seat, and shot him once in the chest, police said.

Rheamount, whose face was bloodied, ran to the couple’s apartment near Lake Mead and Marion Drive and told a neighbor she had shot her boyfriend, police said. The neighbor called 911.

Officers found Bernardi in the car about 7:35 p.m., and he was pronounced dead at University Medical Center, police said.

Rheamount told police she shot Bernardi because she was afraid he would stab her, but investigators didn’t find any other weapons, police said. She said she didn’t try to run away because she thought Bernardi would chase her, the report said.

Rheamount told detectives the couple had started dating and living together earlier this year, but the relationship turned toxic, police said. She said Bernardi was physically and verbally abusive, though she never reported the incidents, according to police.

Rheamount was booked without bail at the Clark County Detention Center on a count of murder, jail records show. Her next court appearance is set for Dec. 21.