Montville — Detectives found Donovan Stevens face-down in his bed with three bullets in his back.

Stevens' wife, Dominique, told police she shot her husband as he slept, just hours after he'd gotten drunk and threatened her and the couple's two young children by allegedly making a gun sign with his hand and saying, "Bang, you're dead."

But Dominique Stevens never used the words "self-defense" when giving her initial statement to detectives. And prosecutors later said she concocted tales of abuse before and after hiding a loaded gun and murdering her husband.

On the other hand, doctors logged at least six emergency room visits in recent years, with Dominique Stevens suffering bruises, burns, bone fractures and signs of strangulation. A doctor and an expert on abuse pinned blame on her husband, telling a jury Dominique Stevens suffered from battered woman syndrome and learned helplessness, so it was logical for her to believe she had no escape.

On Thursday morning, after harrowing testimony and spirited arguments from student prosecutors and defense attorneys, 16 Montville town officials and Board of Education members found themselves divided on whether the defendant acted in self-defense or the victim deserved justice.

In the end, the mock trial jury — hosted by Montville High School teacher George Dawe for his Topics in American Law course — declared Dominique Stevens guilty of murder in a 9-7 decision.

"I object," Lilly Pastrana, a fiery student defense attorney, joked shortly after the verdict, which had sparked celebration from students playing prosecutors.

Dawe, who's taught at Montville for 14 years, picked the case of Dominique Stevens — a fictionalized version of a real trial — because he believed it would lead to timely lessons for his fiercely competitive students.

"Considering current events in our society in reference to the #MeToo campaign, I thought this case could address the issue and provide the students a real-world example," Dawe said.

Pastrana, a senior who plans to study law in college, described the trial and the month students spent toiling and rehearsing as an insightful, empowering experience.

"As a feminist, I feel it's really important that more people understand the difficulties of being a woman and feeling like there's no escape from abuse," she said.

Fear and frustration over how, when and if women and men report abuse — and how authorities respond — rippled through emotional testimony on both sides.

In the case, neighbors had called police to warn of screams coming from the Stevens' house almost a dozen times. But the defendant never filed any reports, and police said they saw no signs of abuse whenever they responded. 

A shelter director played by Stephanie Ida said neither the defendant nor her children faced an imminent risk of danger. An expert played by Seamus Couch testified Dominique Stevens' case demonstrated textbook abuse by the husband.  

Even though senior Angela Chen played a prosecutor and was convinced of Dominique Stevens' guilt, the case helped her understand how "in situations like this or the Larry Nassar case, it's really hard for women to come forward when there's someone trying to discredit them."

Chen's job during the trial was to discredit her best friend, Marissa Qualich, who played the defendant.

Qualich said it was intensely difficult to put herself in the shoes of an abused woman, but the case was "a good representation of how hard it is for women to get their message out."

That said, she described herself as "straightforward and science-based," and were she a juror, she would have sided with prosecutors.

"The facts are, the defendant shot her dormant husband in the back three times," Qualich said. "Had it been me — not saying I'm going to kill my future husband, if you're out there — if my only option was that, one shot does it, or at least sends a message."

Jurors said they were impressed with the students' poise as they poked holes in their opponent's case, or, as witnesses, tried to confidently explain discrepancies between their testimony and statements to police.

"Honestly, they did a great job arguing back and forth," said Town Councilor Jeff Rogers, who voted guilty because he believed the victim was defenseless.

"Teenagers are good at arguing," Dawe responded.

b.kail@theday.com