A Georgia mother was shot and killed by her ex-husband at a courthouse days after she had finalized their divorce, 11 Alive reports.
44-year-old Krystal Evans was shot dead earlier this month just two days after her divorce was finalized and she was granted a permanent protective order against her ex-husband, Tom Mallory. Mallory reportedly opened fire against Evans while she was sitting in her vehicle outside of the Spalding County Courthouse after a hearing.
"She was so happy after her divorce. She felt free,” Precious, Evans' daughter, told local news outlets. “We were even talking about doing a party.”
Precious accused police of failing to protect her mother amid the contentious divorce battle. According to Precious, a family friend had asked a court clerk to arrange an escort for Evans as she left the courtroom on the day of her shooting.
“My mom, literally, called the sheriff — the sheriff’s department the day before, because he was stalking her,” Precious said. “And they did nothing. Had they had someone to walk out with her, like her friend asked, she would still be here.”
Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix denied the claim that an escort had been requested for Evans.
“For a fact, the person that started the rumor that Mrs. Mallory [Evans] asked for an escort has admitted that it was a lie,” Dix wrote on Facebook. “Video from the lobby shows that as Mrs. Mallory walked through the lobby, she passed Deputies and did not ask for assistance either.”
The sheriff said his office had responded to several domestic violence calls at Evans' home, but at times it was unclear who the aggressor was.
“There were times when she claimed he hit her or pulled a gun on her, there were times where he said she got angry hit him, and shot at him. This was by all definitions a toxic relationship,” Dix wrote.
Prior to her death, Evans said in a Facebook post that her ex-husband had threatened to kill her.
“It’s sad that I have to walk around, terrified for my life and my children’s. I know if something happens to me. Please know who did it. This man has said numerous times he’s going to kill me. I am posting and trying to leave a paper trail. This man is extremely dangerous," Evans wrote.
Dix said Mallory shot Evans from his car window. After fleeing the scene, deputies found Mallory with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. He was taken to the hospital where he is being treated for injuries.
A police spokesperson said warrants have been obtained for felony murder and other associated causes.
Dix defended his deputies' response to the shooting in his Facebook post.
“Do improvements need to be made to the law, yes they do. Maybe it wasnt a Deputy or my agency that failed, maybe it was the law itself. By the way, the Deputies that allegedly refused to escort her are the same ones that removed her from the car, tried to control the bleeding and tried to save her life,” Dix wrote.
Precious, however, is still seeking justice for her mother's death.
“You are literally just trying to clear your name! You failed my mom you and your whole division! But I’m going to get my mama the justice she deserves!” She wrote on the sheriff's post.
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