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Post-Divorce Murder-Suicide Thought to Be Over Valuable Real Estate Transferred to the Former Wife, As Court-Ordered, to Make Up for Substantial Child Support Arrearages

By Janet Langjahr

Fatal domestic violence incidents, particularly murder-suicides, are becoming an epidemic, according to a representative from one central Florida shelter for domestic abuse victims.

In 2008, there were two murder-suicides in Orange County, Florida. In 2009, ten. Orange County reportedly has one of the highest rates of domestic violence in Florida.

The most recent area incident was the killing, allegedly by an ex-husband, of his ex-wife and her new husband. Twelve years after the divorce.

The couple had five children together, but there also appears to have been a history of domestic abuse.

The former husband allegedly just began shooting at the door of his ex-wife’s home one morning.

The suspected motive: the former husband had been $200,000 behind in his child support payments, so the court had awarded the former wife a rental property that was worth over $1 million. When the former wife sold the property, she collected the entire net sales proceeds.

Read more in this WDBO-AM news article: Domestic violence murders becoming an ‘epidemic’ and this WFTV 9 news article: Child Support May Be Motive For Triple Murder.

Full post as published by Florida Divorce - Child Custody - Domestic Abuse Law on May 25, 2010 (boomark / email).