Man accused of shooting ex-wife outside Lakewood motel told her, ‘You made me do this’
A man suspected of chasing down his ex-wife outside a Lakewood motel last week told her, ‘You made me do this,’ before he shot her six times, court documents say.
A warrant has been issued Leon Murray, 43, who was charged Tuesday with attempted first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree assault.
Pierce County prosecutors said they might also charge him with another count of attempted murder, kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment.
Murray remains on the run.
Police were called Friday night to a motel in the 4200 block of Sharondale Street Southwest and found the victim suffering from 3 to 6 gunshot wounds.
She was able to identify the gunman as her ex-husband while officers applied tourniquets to her injuries.
The 37-year-old woman was shot in the chest, stomach and leg.
Although several witnesses pointed police toward a nearby field and railroad tracks where the suspected shooter was seen jogging away, they were unable to catch him.
A motive for the shooting has not been determined.
The woman told police Murray told her she made him shoot her just before pulling the trigger, according to charging papers.
Witnesses saw the woman running around a corner and a man chasing her. When he caught her, the man allegedly shoved his ex-wife against a wall and pulled out a gun.
One man in the parking lot yelled for the man to stop but ran after Murray pointed a gun at him.
He heard the gunshots as he fled.
Another witness heard the commotion and tried to intervene but returned to his room after the suspected shooter pointed a pistol in his direction.
On Saturday, detectives stopped a vehicle associated with Murray but determined that it was his roommate behind the wheel.
The roommate told police Murray had returned home earlier, “frantic and yelling something about a gun,” before grabbing marijuana and taking off, records say.
Court documents indicate the couple divorced in August.
On Dec. 11, Murray filed for a protection order against his ex-wife, claiming she had an affair and threatened to have someone kill him if he “kept complaining.”
In the order, he wrote that his ex continued to come to his home even though she no longer lived there, stabbed him in the arm with a piece of broken glass and tried to get other men to fight him.
“I’ve often been told if I go missing, who gonna care and I believe this order will set her off to the point they may follow up and kill me,” Murray wrote.
The protection order was dismissed Dec. 24 because he failed to appear in court.
Murray is described as black, 5-feet-11 and 195 pounds. He is considered armed and dangerous.
Police ask the public to call 911 if they see him.
This story was originally published February 20, 2019 at 9:47 AM.
