Florida Man Accused Of Shooting Girlfriend, Then Placing Gun In Her Hand To Make It Look Like Suicide

A Florida man has been accused of shooting his girlfriend in the head and then staging the death to look like a suicide.

Clinton Pittman, 38, is now facing charges of homicide, tampering with evidence, and two counts of possession of a firearm as a felon after authorities said he shot his girlfriend Tuesday morning, according to a statement from the North Port Police.

Police arrived at the North Port home Tuesday morning to find a female victim laying on her back with a gunshot wound to the left side of her head and an AR-15 short barrel gun in her left hand, according to a police report obtained by Oxygen.com. The woman still had a pulse and authorities quickly rushed her to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, where she died from the injuries.

Police have not released the identity of the victim; however, multiple local media outlets, including WFLA, have identified her as Chelsea Nandor, a mother of three, who had been dating Pittman at the time of her death.

Pittman told a 911 dispatcher he had been outside in the backyard and “heard the damn thing” go off and came inside to find his girlfriend with the gun in her hand.

“She’s bleeding all over the place,” he said in a recording of the nine-minute call obtained by Oxygen.com.

The 38-year-old appears to struggle with answering basic questions posed by the dispatcher and repeatedly pleads for police to hurry.

“She’s breathing, please get an ambulance here, please!” he said at one point.

Yet, when the dispatcher tries to lead him through life-saving efforts, he declined to provide any assistance telling the dispatcher “Ma’am I can’t touch her” and then holds the phone up to capture his girlfriend’s labored breathing. He never addresses his girlfriend directly, but exclaims “Oh God!”

Pittman said Nandor's 4-year-old daughter had been in the living room at the time of the shooting. 

During their investigation, authorities learned that the victim was right-handed, making it unusual that she would have shot herself using her non-dominant hand.

Clinton Pittman Photo: North Port Police Department

Surveillance footage also captured Pittman leaving the rear door of the home with a “handgun in his right hand,” according to the police report. He’s then seen throwing the gun “into the woods next to his house,” where it was later recovered by police, authorities said.

“We believe the video evidence, along with the 911 call, and other physical evidence help us paint a much clearer picture of what took place,” Josh Taylor, the public information officer for the North Port Police, told Oxygen.com.

Neighbors described Nandor to WFLA as a nice person, who was often smiling.

“It’s heartbreaking,” David Beaulieu told the station. “It’s just terrible. It is hard to even think about.”