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Gene Kennedy ReportingNew information shows that the recent murder-suicide in Preston, Idaho was a classic case of domestic violence.
It's a story that reminds us how such situations can lead to deadly consequences. A woman murdered just days after trying to patch up a rocky marriage.
This is the first murder-suicide in 20 years in the town of Preston.
Alyssa Black, Crime Victim Advocate: "It's really sad and it's heart-wrenching that someone paid the ultimate price for someone's choice to abuse"
Q: Any way this could have been prevented?
A: One way is for the victim to move away from the abusive spouse, even if it's a state away.
That happened, but with exceptions. The victim left her husband, but still had a relationship that continued in abuse.
Steve and Annette Donald were in a back and forth relationship filled with domestic violence. And police say there was a warning it could end this way.
In September, witnesses say Steven Donald showed up at his wife's workplace in Richmond, Utah threatening to shoot her and himself. Deputies took him to Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello for a mental evaluation.
Alyssa Black: "I think just having a mental evaluation is not a catch all because abusers need long-term treatment, they need to be held accountable."
Alyssa Black advises victims of domestic violence. She says if there was enough evidence against Steven Donald he should have been charged, not just mentally evaluated. The charges never came but his wife filed a protective order against him.
Alyssa Black: "I work with a lot of domestic violence victims and dating violence victims and I feel protective orders work the majority of the time. They send the message to the abuser that they don't want further contact from this person who is trying to come after them. And I think the victims who have resources available to them are more apt to leave and leave safely."
But Annette Donald did not leave. Preston police told us today in this statement, three days before Christmas, she asked to that the protective order be lifted. The couple went on a Christmas vacation and when it went sour, Mrs. Donald told police she didn't want any more contact with her husband.
By then, it was too late. Yesterday, police say Steven Donald shot his wife to death in her apartment then shot himself while on the phone with police.
Domestic violence experts say abusers need years of therapy. It's not going to get better in a few weeks or even a couple months.
In Utah in 2006, there were 27 domestic violence related homicides. Of those, 20 involved guns.
