[TX] Anna Rodriguez was here. Officer's wife wanted a divorce, not death

The bodies of [Saginaw police officer] Mike Rodriguez, 52, and his wife, Anna, 50, were found inside their home in the 1100 block of Parkhill Avenue in Saginaw about 7:30 p.m. Monday... the couple's teen-age son arrived at the scene and tried to get into the house, but officers held him back. He was saying 'I want to see my mom,'"... Ms. Rodriguez had filed for divorce last week... Mary Lee Hafley, CEO of SafeHaven of Tarrant County, said a victim of domestic abuse has a difficult time leaving her abuser, especially if that person is in a position of authority. "It's very difficult for victims who are married to someone involved in law enforcement to reach out for help, because they feel like they can't contact their local police department," she said...

"AnnaMarie worked many years for HEB Harris-Methodist Hospital System. She attended the First Baptist Church of Saginaw and was a loving mother and grandmother..."

DEATHS CALLED MURDER-SUICIDE
Austin American Statesman. pg. B.3
May 10, 2006
[Excerpts] A police officer and his wife were found shot to death in their home in an apparent murder-suicide. Mike Rodriguez Jr., 52, and his wife, Anna, 50, were found about 7:30 p.m. Monday by fellow officers responding to a domestic disturbance call at the couple's home in Saginaw, a Fort Worth suburb. Anna Rodriguez had filed for divorce last week, police said. Officers were called to the home Monday by a woman expressing concern for her mother's welfare, based on a telephone conversation another relative had with the father minutes earlier, said officer Maranda Jordan, a Saginaw police spokeswoman. Jordan said Saginaw police have turned over the investigation to the Tarrant County sheriff's department... [Full article here]

SAGINAW OFFICER, WIFE FOUND DEAD
Star-Telegram
By Bill Miller
May. 09, 2006
[Excerpts]  The veteran police officer who was found shot to death along with his wife in their southside home Monday was remembered Tuesday as a decorated public servant and caring neighbor. Mike Rodriguez Jr., 52, and his wife, Anna, 50, were found at about 7:30 p.m. Monday by fellow officers responding to a domestic disturbance at the couple's home in the 1100 block of Parkhill Avenue... Amanda Summerhays, who lived across the street from the Rodriguez family, said she was shocked and saddened by the news. She said the family members were always cheerful, and they helped unload her belongings when her family moved to the neighborhood a couple months ago. "They just jumped right in," she said. "They were just wonderful people; always laughing and giggling over there"... "Forced entry was made to the residence, where two people were found," [Police Spokeswoman Officer Maranda] Jordan said. "Both were deceased, apparently from gunshot wounds." Summerhays said the couple's teen-age son arrived at the scene and tried to get into the house, but officers held him back." "He was saying 'I want to see my mom,'" she recalled, "but they said, 'You don't want to see her like this. "I about cried. It just broke my heart"... Jordan said Saginaw police have turned over the investigation to Tarrant County sheriff's detectives... According to Saginaw police, Rodriguez had been on the force since 1988. [Full article here]

SAGINAW OFFICER, WIFE FOUND DEAD IN HOME
Police: They argued before murder-suicide; she had filed for divorce
The Dallas Morning News
By Kimberly Durnan
Cynthia Vega of WFAA-TV contributed to this report
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
[Excerpts] A veteran Saginaw police officer shot and killed his wife and then himself after an argument at their home, police said. The bodies of Mike Rodriguez, 52, and his wife, Anna, 50, were found inside their home in the 1100 block of Parkhill Avenue in Saginaw about 7:30 p.m. Monday, after neighbors saw the couple argue in the front yard and heard shots fired in the home a short time later, police said. Ms. Rodriguez had filed for divorce last week, police said... Officer Rodriguez had worked for the Saginaw police force for 17 years, police said... Experts note that the nature of police work – control over and responsibility for others – along with easy access to firearms probably play a role in their heightened risk for murder-suicide the report says... Kristen Rand, legislative director for the Washington, D.C.-based Violence Policy Center, said police officers have a high-stress job and a high rate of suicide. "Their job involves having to protect people and having control over people and making them do what they want them to do," she said. "When they don't have that control anymore, because of a romantic breakup, and they have access to a gun, those are ingredients for a murder-suicide." Mary Lee Hafley, CEO of SafeHaven of Tarrant County, said a victim of domestic abuse has a difficult time leaving her abuser, especially if that person is in a position of authority. "It's very difficult for victims who are married to someone involved in law enforcement to reach out for help, because they feel like they can't contact their local police department," she said... [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence (IPV) abuse law enforcement public safety fatality fatalities murder suicide texas state]