Firefighter arrested in shooting death of wife

[NJFFSA16]

I pray for both....

TACOMA (AP) - The estranged wife of a veteran city firefighter
was fatally shot Tuesday night and the husband was arrested, police
said.
Neither the 33-year-old victim nor the 49-year-old husband was
immediately identified.
Police responding to a 911 call at about 8 p.m. found the woman
dead in the apartment in northwest Tacoma. She apparently suffered
a single gunshot wound, police spokesman Jim Mattheis said.
"Our suspect is a Tacoma firefighter, a 25-year veteran of the
department," Mattheis said. The man was waiting outside when
officers arrived.
The couple were reportedly separated and the man had come to the
apartment where the woman lived.
A neighbor who asked not to be identified told The News Tribune
she had heard the couple fighting several times at the apartment,
including Tuesday night.
Mattheis said he did not know whether police had dealt with the
couple concerning domestic violence complaints. He also was unsure
whether any court orders were in effect.
The slaying came nearly three months after Tacoma's police
chief, David Brame, fatally shot his estranged wife, Crystal, and
then killed himself.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[WannabeintheFD]

thats just too bad

[EoneTiller]

maybe it was a suicide?

[NJFFSA16]

TACOMA (AP) - A 49-year-old firefighter who contended his
girlfriend committed suicide remained in jail Thursday for
investigation of second-degree murder.
Police said the 34-year-old woman was shot once and they believe
alcohol was a factor in the shooting Tuesday night.
Tacoma detectives treated the death as a possible homicide.
Police spokesman Jim Mattheis cited inconsistencies in the man's
"statements and evidence," but did not elaborate.
"It still may be a suicide," Mattheis said. "We're not ruling
that out."
The names of the woman and man were not released. The Pierce
County medical examiner's office did an autopsy Wednesday but
spokesman Ed Duke said the cause and manner of the woman's death
awaited further investigation.
The firefighter, a 25-year veteran of the Tacoma Fire
Department, remains on active-duty status while the police
investigation continues.
Mattheis confirmed reports that neighbors in the apartment
complex in the 900 block of North Pearl Street heard yelling
Tuesday night coming from the unit where the couple lived.
The 911 call that brought police to the scene about 8 p.m. came
from the firefighter, who called from his cell phone, Mattheis
said. He was there when police arrived.
The firefighter told police the woman had committed suicide,
Mattheis said. There was no official history of domestic violence,
the spokesman said.
The victim apparently suffered a single gunshot wound, Mattheis
said. He confirmed that investigators were looking into
surveillance tapes from outside the apartment.
Mattheis would not say who owned the gun used in the shooting or
describe its caliber, citing the ongoing investigation.
The unmarried couple had been together for "several years,"
Mattheis said, noting that police records show no domestic violence
calls to the apartment.
Police initially identified the woman as the firefighter's
estranged wife.
The firefighter was previously married and filed for divorce in
July 2002. That action is still pending. In March, he filed for a
protection order against his wife in Pierce County Superior Court,
citing acts of domestic violence he said she committed against him.
The court denied the order March 24 on procedural grounds.



(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

Will NOT be charged

(Tacoma-AP) -- The shooting death of a woman at a Tacoma
apartment has been ruled a suicide.
The 49-year-old firefighter who has been jailed since the
Tuesday night shooting will not be charged.
The news came in court today in Tacoma as the man was scheduled
to make his appearance before a judge. Supporters of the 25-year
firefighting veteran were in the courtroom and cheered the news.
Police and Pierce County medical examiners had been
investigating whether the death of 34-year-old Sandra Marie
Mogensen was a suicide or homicide. She was shot once in the head.
The man called police and said it was a suicide, but officers
arrested him because of conflicting information about the shooting.
(KOMO Radio)

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[lutan1]

"Our suspect is a Tacoma firefighter, a 25-year veteran of the department,"

The sad thing about this sort of article is the FF was not given the respect and privacy he probably deserved.

The fact that he is a 25 year veteran of any fire department has no bearing on the case- once again, a reputation (including the Fire Departments)and another life has probably been destroyed by this information being made public...