[AL] Lauderdale County Sheriff's Dispatcher Regina Russell murdered by ex in copy-cat murder-suicide

A Florence woman [Regina Russell], who worked as a part-time dispatcher for the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Department, was murdered on Friday... A man suspected of killing a part-time sheriff's dispatcher late Friday shot himself when confronted by a state trooper Saturday afternoon at the same site where his brother killed himself and two family members in January... The sheriff says it's even more difficult since the victim is one of his workers. "It's tough," says [Sheriff Ronnie] Willis. "This was a sweet girl and we're all close here, like family"...

POLICE: WOMAN BEATEN IN ATTACK
timesdaily.com
By Tom Smith
March 27, 2010
[Excerpts] A woman was transported to the trauma unit at Huntsville Hospital late Friday after being severely beaten by a man she was with earlier in the night, authorities said. The woman's condition was believed to be serious when she left the scene of the attack, which is a short distance off Lauderdale 61 near the Shoal Creek Nature Preserve north of St. Florian. Emergency workers said the woman sustained severe head injuries. The woman's identity was not immediately released... Emergency workers said she is a part-time dispatcher at the sheriff's office... [Full article here]

FLORENCE WOMAN MURDERED; SUSPECTED SHOOTER TURNS GUN ON HIMSELF
whnt.com
Clarissa Stephens
March 27, 2010
[Excerpts] A Florence woman, who worked as a part-time dispatcher for the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Department, was murdered on Friday. On Friday around 9:15 p.m., a St. Florian police officer found the woman's badly beaten body in a car off Lauderdale County Road 61 North at the Shoal Creek Nature Preserve. The officer, who was on patrol at the time, saw a red car parked. When he went to check it out, he found a woman lying in the car. She was barely alive... Regina Russell, who was 38-years-old, was flown to the trauma unit at Huntsville Hospital with severe head injuries. Willis says they initially thought Russell had just been beaten. However, after doctors evaluated Russell, they found out she'd also been shot in the head. Russell died just before midnight Friday... The sheriff says it's even more difficult since the victim is one of his workers. "It's tough," says Willis. "This was a sweet girl and we're all close here, like family." Willis called in the Alabama Bureau of Investigation to help, since the death involves a department member... The actual circumstances leading up to the murder of Regina Russell are still under investigation. Right now, the Alabama Bureau of Investigation isn't releasing a lot of information... [Full article here]

SUSPECT DEAD IN FATAL SHOOTING OF LAUDERDALE COUNTY WOMAN
waff.com
By Trang Do
Mar 27, 2010

[Excerpts] LAUDERDALE COUNTY, AL (WAFF) - Multiple sources have confirmed to WAFF 48 News that the suspect in a Lauderdale County fatal shooting has died. Authorities say he shot himself at a relative's home. It happened around 4:00 Saturday afternoon at 285 County Road 472 in the Lexington community. Authorities have identified the man as 32-year-old James Christopher Robertson. An ABI spokesman tells us Robertson and the woman he was suspected of killing, had been in a relationship, but were estranged. A spray paint outline marks the spot off Butler Creek Road in the Shoal Creek Preserve, where authorities say Regina Russell was brutally beaten then fatally shot in the head Friday night... Lauderdale County District Attorney Chris Connolly says it's a loss felt strongly by the sheriff's office, where Russell worked as a part-time dispatcher. "Obviously, we lost one of our own, Regina last night," Connolly said. Lauderdale County turned the investigation over to the ABI because it involves an employee... Authorities say Robertson did not stop, leading the trooper to his brother's home at 285 County Road 472. "The driver of the vehicle, got out of the vehicle, placed a weapon to his head, and had a self inflicted wound to his head," [ABI spokesman Curtis] Summerville said. Authorities were out at the home, about two months ago, investigating a double murder-suicide. This was eerily similar to that multiple homicide and suicide we had. His truck is in the same location as that, and a lot of blood." [Full article here]

WOMAN FOUND AT NATURE PRESERVE DIES; SUSPECT IN CRITICAL CONDITION
TimesDaily
By Tom Smith
Sunday, March 28, 2010 at 3:30 a.m.
[Excerpts] A man suspected of killing a part-time sheriff's dispatcher late Friday shot himself when confronted by a state trooper Saturday afternoon at the same site where his brother killed himself and two family members in January, officials said. Authorities said Christopher Robertson, 32, who had been living near Lexington and in Five Points, Tenn., was flown from a residence on Lauderdale 472 to Huntsville Hospital. Sheriff's investigators said Robertson was still alive Saturday night but in critical condition. The residence, just west of Lexington, is the former home of Robertson's brother, Jackie Dwight Robertson, 37. On Jan. 10, authorities said Jackie Robertson, 37, shot and killed his estranged wife, April Lynn Robertson, and his nephew, Jamie Earl Robertson, 23, while they were sitting inside a vehicle parked in the driveway. Investigators said Jackie Robertson then shot himself. Christopher Robertson is accused of beating and later shooting Regina Russell, 37, on Friday night during a domestic dispute at the Shoal Creek Nature Preserve on Lauderdale 61... [Sheriff Ronnie] Willis said Robertson, who was in a relationship with Russell, was quickly listed as a suspect. He said officers with state, federal and local agencies throughout northwest Alabama and southern Tennessee immediately began searching for Robertson. Authorities said a state trooper spotted the vehicle Robertson was driving... Robertson pulled up behind his brother's manufactured home and got out of his truck with a pistol in his hand. They added that when the trooper ordered Robertson to drop the gun, he shot himself in the head... [Lauderdale County District Attorney Chris] Connolly said Saturday's shooting was "eerily similar" to the double homicide-suicide in January that involved Robertson's brother. Police responding to Saturday's shooting said Christopher Robertson fell to the ground at almost the same spot his brother died... Officials said Russell lived about three miles north of the nature preserve on Lauderdale 61. Willis said Saturday it's still unclear when Russell was attacked. He added that she was last seen around 4 p.m. Friday when she left her home... He said Russell, who had been a part-time dispatcher with his department for about five years, was supposed to have worked the midnight shift Friday evening... Willis said Saturday was a tough day for all members of his department. "We're all very close like family, and this has really affected us," he said. "Everyone in our department is hurting." The sheriff said Russell had two daughters and a young granddaughter. "Regina was a very sweet girl, always smiling," he said. "I'll forever remember her smile and the dimples she had when the laughed and smiled. She'll always be with us"... [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence (IPV) abuse law enforcement public safety fatality fatalities alabama state murder-suicide copy cat crime]