A video shown in court on Monday showed Taylor Jamal Satterfield falling to the floor, crying out and stomping his feet after a detective told him his girlfriend had died from a bullet to the head.
Satterfield became so distraught that Ted Engel of the public defender's office said the statement he gave should be thrown out.
Criminal Court Judge Don Poole indicated he did not see problems with the statement or with the actions of two police personnel in the room with the defendant. Judge Poole said, "I don't see anything other than a voluntary statement." He said he will put down a written ruling later.
The trial, in which Satterfield is charged with criminal homicide, was set for April 19. It has been delayed until May 2.
Satterfield, who was 20 at the time of the May 2014 slaying, gave several different versions on how the 20-year-old mother of his two children, Keiara Patton, was shot and killed.
In the statement, Satterfield first said he found Ms. Patton dead at her residence. He said he had been a member of the Gangster Disciples and that he had come into some money from his mother so there were people after him.
He later said the two of them were arguing when he put his handgun to his head and she tried to grab it, causing it to discharge and strike her.
Another version was that Ms. Patton charged him with knives and, as he was trying to escape, she swiped at his gun causing it to discharge. Detective Matthew Puglise said two knives were found on the kitchen floor.
The detective said Satterfield was the main suspect from the start. He said witnesses saw him run from the residence and go to a blue 2000 Dodge Durango. He said a .40 caliber Springfield pistol was placed in a manhole directly where witnesses said Satterfield was seen getting into the Dodge.
Satterfield said he left the residence at College Hill Courts to get the children, ages one and three, away from the death scene.
He said he and Ms. Patton "fought every day. That's how we loved each other."
At one point in the interview he said, "She's gone and it's my fault. I deserve to be in jail."
He wondered whether he "will ever see the light of daylight again" and if he would "spend the rest of my life in jail."