A woman who feared her ex-husband, Mary Schaffer, was killed while picking her kids up from his apartment.
Spokane, Washington Police have since arrested Nathan Beal and charged him with first-degree murder. Beal allegedly shooting fatally his ex-wife in the head on August 8.
Schaffer, while they’d been divorced for years, told friends that she was fearful of Beal. She claims he’d continued to threaten her, with plans to shoot her, after their separation.
Jamie Adell, a family friend, reveals Schaffer even told the court she didn’t feel safe living in the same state as Beal, and received permission to move to Oregon. However, her ex was granted custody over their children for the summer.
On the fateful day, Police say that Schaffer rented a vehicle to drive from Oregon to Spokane to pick up her two young children. The parents had plans to meet in a public setting, a shopping center across the street from Beal’s apartment complex.
While waiting, she texted her boyfriend pictures of the rental and license plate, “in case things went south.” Moments after texting her boyfriend and a sibling that she’d ended up at his apartment to grab the kids, Adell said “she just went quiet.” Hours later, a witness called by 911, reporting a woman slumped over in a car.
Police arrived and found the woman with a gunshot wound to her head, and later identified her as Schaffer. Her family would learn of her death after researching news updates around the area and seeing the rental vehicle in the articles. After witnesses revealed to police that they’d seen a man leaving the area, officers located Beal’s apartment and took him into custody. His bail has been set for $1 million, and he’s since pleaded not guilty to murder charges.
A GoFundMe, organized by Adell, has been created for the children. The family is also seeking stricter domestic violence laws and regulations in the state of Washington.
