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Nov 12, 2008 10:24 pm US/Central
Details Released On Dallas Double Murder, Suicide
DALLAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
Some people believe the two women murdered Tuesday by an abusive husband might still be alive if not for a critical decision by prosecutors in Waco.
Police have been unraveling the troubling details of a double murder and suicide in East Dallas. They say 25-year-old Keith Hill murdered his wife and his wife's mother before turning the gun on himself.
His wife's grandmother found the bodies of 24-year-old Janice Hill and 52-year-old Jeanne Carroll Tuesday afternoon.
Before Keith broke in the back door of the house on Michael Lane, records show he had a history of violence. He was arrested in September of 2003 for assault.
In January of this year, Keith was arrested for assaulting his wife. An incident report from Hewitt, Texas shows Keith hill shoved his wife "over a dresser and injured her back." She also had "two black eyes and bruising on her cheeks and forehead."
Sources tell CBS 11 that the McLennan County District Attorney's Office reduced a felony aggravated assault charge to misdemeanor assault.
It was a decision that allowed Keith to avoid serious jail time. He was on probation when he assaulted his wife again.
Last month, Janice reported another incident in Grand Prairie. Documents show Keith slapped her and tried to take her wedding rings. She then put the rings in her mouth.
Hill then pushed his wife "onto the bed, causing pain to her shoulder and back. He then began to forcefully shake her, causing her to gag and choke on the rings in her mouth."
Shortly after the incident, Janice filed for divorce and was granted an emergency protective order against Keith. He wasn't allowed to go within 500 feet of her work or home.
"A protective order is not going to keep you safe. If someone is determined to kill you, a protective order is not going to be enough," said Paige Flink, Executive Director of the Family Place. "They're only a piece of paper and finding a place to hide is probably the best thing a victim can do."
This past weekend, Janice told police someone had been calling her repeatedly.
"The idea of stalking someone on their cell phones or using the internet, those are things we have no legal protection from. But they can be damaging, scary, threatening," said Flink.
The protective order also states Keith's concealed gun license was taken from him. Dallas police are trying to figure out who owns the rifle he used in the shootings.
Authorities were looking for him when he violated a protective order on Tuesday and shot the two women with a rifle before committing suicide.
Sources say Janice kept a file with details and photos documenting her husband's abuse. It is unclear why he still continued to be a threat.
No one with the McLennan County DA's Office could be reached to explain why the January aggravated assault case was reduced to a misdemeanor.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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