Richfield man charged with murder after woman’s body found in Lakeville

A Richfield man has been charged with second-degree murder after a woman’s body was found in Lakeville Tuesday.

Atravius Joseph Weeks, 32, has been charged after authorities launched a homicide investigation upon finding the woman’s body near a daycare.

A criminal complaint details the following:

Officers first responded to a Belle Plaine apartment after a woman reported a violation of an order for protection. The woman told authorities her former boyfriend, later identified as Weeks, was outside and pounding on the walls of her building. She said Weeks had a gun.

Upon arrival, officers learned Weeks had driven an Audi to the apartment building but had left the scene on foot. They found blood inside the Audi and a 9mm ammunition casing on the passenger seat. Officers also found an outside door handle on the apartment building had been recently damaged and that a key card access reader had been pulled away from the wall at the building’s back entry.

Officers called Weeks, who agreed to return to the apartment building. When he arrived, he was carrying a firearm, which he dropped when commanded. Police identified the firearm as a Glock 9mm handgun.

Weeks said a woman was outside a daycare facility in Lakeville and gave a description of the location. He also admitted to shooting the woman seven times.

The woman found was identified as 29-year-old Cortney Grace Henry.

The woman who first called authorities at the Belle Plaine apartment later informed officers that Weeks had told her he and Henry had broken up last week.

Editor’s Note: This report has been updated to clarify the relationship between Weeks and Henry.