Cowboy killer girlfriend, 21, said she was ‘falling apart’ in days leading up to alleged murder

The on-and-off girlfriend who is alleged to have shot dead her professional bull rider boyfriend has been pictured on Facebook revealing that she was ‘trying not to fall apart’ just days before the fatal shooting outside her home.

LaShawn Denise Bagley, 21, allegedly killed Demetrius Omar Lateef Allen, 27, known professionally as ‘Ouncie Mitchell’ after the pair attended the Utah State Fair on Monday, police said.

Allen was found with ‘at least one gunshot wound’ outside the apartment belonging to Bagley. He later died of his injuries at a nearby hospital.

Bagley has been charged with first-degree murder and third-degree felony discharge of a firearm.

If convicted, Bagley faces at minimum 15 years behind bars, and up to a life sentence.

In the days leading up to the shooting, there were signs of Bagley’s precarious mental state.

‘Missing you more than life honestly. I miss you come talk to me again pls, been trying not to fall apart,’ Bagley had written in a Facebook post addressing her recently deceased father.

Comments on the post have turned hostile in the wake of the murder as users excoriate Bagley for mourning one life while taking another.

‘Wonder how many people miss ouncie the same way,’ wrote one user.

‘Well, if you get the death penalty you’ll see him soon enough again. We can always hold out hope that you do,’ wrote another.  

Allen ‘Ouncie’ is survived by a four-year-old daughter that he had with previous partner Nyteshea Haywood. 

The professional cowboy had traveled to Salt Lake City from Houston to compete in a rodeo at the Utah State Fair and had arranged to stay with Bagley, whom Salt Lake City Police say Allen had an ‘on-and-off relationship’ with, during his trip.

Allen is assumed to have first met Bagley in Houston, where his residence is currently listed and where Bagley previously lived in the nearby suburb of Pearland.

The pair had attended the fair together earlier that evening and later arrived at a local bar, where they had an argument.

Allen said he wanted to retrieve some of his belongings from Bagley’s apartment and attempted to do so.

Upon arrival at the scene in the parking lot of the apartment complex, police discovered bullet holes that pierced the entry to Bagley’s nearby unit.

Blood evidence found outside the apartment indicated that Allen had not been inside when he was shot, according to court documents.

Salt Lake City Police added there was ‘no indication of any forced entry or attempted forced entry into the apartment.’

A witness confirmed that Allen had not attempted to force his way into Bagley’s apartment.

A report by FOX 13 said Bagley fired multiple rounds through the apartment’s glass door, striking Allen at least once through his torso.

Emergency medical care was provided to Allen before he was transported to a local hospital where he later succumbed to his wounds.

Allen was ranked 23rd in the world in bull riding with the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.

Sean Gleason, commissioner and CEO of Professional Bull Riders, expressed his condolences to Mitchell’s family on Twitter.

‘We are shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of Demetrius Allen, who fans knew as Ouncie Mitchell,’ Gleason said. ‘Ouncie was a talented cowboy and a familiar face on the Velocity Tour.

‘The PBR extends our heartfelt condolences to Ouncie’s cousin Ezekiel Mitchell and the entire family.’

‘I don’t understand and I don’t know how long it’s going to take me to understand,’ Mitchell said. ‘The guy that would give the shirt off his back to anybody, why would you take his life away?

‘Every time I put my hand on a bull rope from now on it’ll be him right there in the back of my mind. He was a once-in-a-lifetime person and a once-in-a-lifetime family member and friend and more so, a brother.’ 

‘She loved her daddy,’ Haywood said. ‘She loved him and loved him and loved him. It was always, ‘My daddy this, my daddy doing this, my daddy took me fishing.’

‘She loves her dad, and so having to break that news to her was a huge distraught.’

In extending his message to Allen’s family, Gleason also explained the meaning behind ‘Ouncie Mitchell.’

‘Ouncie got his name because he was born small,’ Gleason said. ‘He grew up to compete with a huge heart.’ 

Police said the incident was isolated and was related to a domestic dispute between Allen and Bagley with ‘no threat to the public at this time.’

Bagley is currently being held at Salt Lake County Metro Jail without bond.

Detectives at the Salt Lake City Police Department continue to investigate.

Allen fist started bull-riding when he was 2 years old in Fresno, Texas. Before he was known as ‘Ouncie,’ he shared a nickname with his father, Demetrius ‘Teaspoon’ Mitchell.

His father recalled Allen entering in his first ‘mutton busting’ competition and said he did not want his son to become a bull rider, according to PBR. 

‘Are you crazy?’ Mitchell remembers asking Allen’s mother, Laquita. ‘Do you know what you just did? You messed up everything, because I don’t want him to ride bulls.’

Allen became a professional bull rider at 18 years old and qualified for the 2019 PBR World Finals that same year.  He competed alongside his father at the Bill Pickett Invitational, a traditionally all-black rodeo, in 2021.

‘It is amazing,’ Mitchell said. ‘What father wouldn’t want to be with their child?

‘He has been around it all my career since his mom entered him in the mutton busting. The boy wasn’t even walking all the way when he got started.’

Allen first rode a steer at 5 years old and he credits his father with teaching him how to ride.

‘I try to ride loose and cool and have fun,’ Allen said. ‘My dad used to always say, ‘Forget the form and make the horn.’ Whatever I have to do, just make it.’