Lufkin, Texas

From the June 30, 2005 Lufkin Daily News:

An Angelina County grand jury on Tuesday declined to issue a criminal indictment to a Lufkin woman who shot and killed her common-law husband June 7.

A 6-year-old boy was in the house and witnessed at least part of the incident, District Attorney Clyde Herrington said Wednesday.

Police found Clarance Lee Richard, 51, dead on the floor from a gunshot wound to the neck in a hallway at a house at 115 Westmoreland St.

Rose Mary Barlow Whitaker, 50, was arrested and charged with murder after calling police to report she'd shot Richard as he broke down the bathroom door in an attempt to rape her.

The two had a rocky relationship, Herrington said. The DA's office had handled an earlier case between the two in which Richard had stolen her car, Herrington said.

Whitaker had been in a shelter in September 2004, afraid to go home alone for fear of her husband, Lufkin Police Lt. Greg Denman said earlier. Police worked several domestic violence calls between the two going back to 2002.