A 28-year-old Farmington man has been charged with first-degree premeditated murder in the death and dismemberment of his girlfriend.

William Michael Dhondt, 28, was arraigned via video Tuesday afternoon in front of 45A District Judge James L. Wittenberg.

Dhondt, who is accused of strangling Kaitlin Hehir and using tools to dismember her body, has been in custody since late Saturday night — approximately 20 hours after an argument became physical shortly after midnight Saturday.

While swearing to a warrant immediately before the arraignment, Farmington Public Safety Detective Andrew Morche said Dhondt admitted to hitting Hehir with a cup, which caused her to hit her head on a dresser and fall to the ground.


He then got on top of her, hit her multiple times in the head with his hands and smashed her head to the ground repeatedly.

"The defendant then used his hands to strangle Kaitlin to death as she struggled and fought for her life," Morche said.

Dhondt had injuries on his hands and arms and told police the entire incident lasted about four minutes.

He dragged Hehir's body to the basement and "used tools to dismember" her, Morche said. He stored her body parts in various areas of the home.

Police initially came to the home Saturday night after Dhondt called 911 and reported Hehir missing. During a search, which Dhondt consented to, police found bloody plastic in the garage. The discovery led to a more thorough search of the home after a warrant was obtained.

Hehir's remains were discovered around noon Sunday.