The man accused of killing the mother of his son with an ax - while the 3-year-old boy and a 17-year-old sibling were home - has accepted a plea deal from the judge that will see him serve 40 years in prison.

News 12 was the only station at Milford Superior Court Wednesday as Ewen Dewitt pleaded guilty to murder and risk of injury of a child in the death of Julie Minogue.

The 40-year-old was killed inside her Milford condo on Dec. 6, 2022.

Dewitt rejected an offer from the state last October that called for a 45-year prison sentence and instead opted to go to trial.

A trial date was supposed to be set later this month. But in a last-minute development, Judge Kevin Russo made his own slightly lower offer to spare Minogue’s family from going through a very public and graphic trial.

Russo said he did it in an effort to protect Minogue’s now 19-year-old son from having to relive what he went through on the witness stand.

“The sentence—I've got to be honest—it doesn't seem fair. You know, it's hard to square a person's life with a number of years, but I do agree that we're avoiding the pain and all that goes with a trial, so I'm happy about that,” Julie Minogue’s father Gerald told News 12 after the hearing.

Gerald Minogue has attended every court date since his daughter’s murder, despite living out of state. On Wednesday, he told the judge about the pain he lives with daily.

“Julie's life was taken in one of the most violent and painful forms even the most sadistic mind couldn’t imagine. One minute she was comforting her 3-year-old son getting him ready for bed, and the next she was savagely attacked by Dewitt swinging that ax at her multiple times,” Minogue said in his court statement. “I personally am haunted by the sense of what she experienced the last few minutes of her life. For sure, it was the most terrifying fear and agonizing thing anyone could imagine.”

A victim’s advocate also read a statement from Julie Minogue’s now 19-year-old son that included how terrified he was seeing Dewitt standing over his mother’s “motionless body after he brutally attacked her.”

Before they spoke, State's Attorney Margaret Kelley went over the gruesome killing—how Dewitt took a Lyft from his parents’ home in Roxbury to Minogue’s condo in Milford, bringing the ax with him.

Kelley said he used it to attack her and screamed, “You didn’t believe me!”

Kelley said Julie Minogue’s then 17-year-old son was woken by the yelling and ran downstairs to find blood everywhere.

“He looked at his mother for a split second, saw that her head was sideways next to the sink on the ground, and her body was all over,” Kelley stated, explaining the teen ran back to his room and called 911 before jumping from a window.

Kelley said that when police arrived, they found Julie Minogue’s 3-year-old son on the couch nearby in “a trance-like state.”

Police arrested Dewitt later that night in West Haven. Kelley said when police asked if he wanted an attorney, Dewitt confessed to bludgeoning Julie Minogue. In that interview, Dewitt told police, “I'm sorry. It's disgusting. I never thought I would ever do anything remotely like that,” according to Kelley.

Julie Minogue had a protective order and a civil restraining order against Dewitt at the time of her death.

“In a civil court in front of a judge, with lawyers and others in attendance, she said, ‘He is going to kill me,’” Gerald Minogue said. “Unfortunately, Julie’s prediction was right.”

In the days before her death, Julie Minogue had also reported Dewitt to Milford police after he allegedly sent her 200 text messages including threats. Police said the officer who handled her complaint didn't follow through with additional information needed to get an arrest warrant for Dewitt.

Gerald Minogue has filed a lawsuit against the city and police department for negligence, claiming his daughter’s death could’ve been prevented.

“I know this is the system we live in, but Julie used the system to protect her, and it failed,” Gerald Minogue said.

Julie Minogue’s death despite her actions led to new legislation aimed at helping protect domestic violence victims by increasing the use of GPS monitoring to track the movements of offenders.

Dewitt is scheduled to be sentenced May 22.