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Mother, son killed near Mandeville; estranged husband arrested in Alabama
Posted by Paul Rioux and Bruce Hamilton April 18, 2007 6:15PM
Categories: Breaking News
Enraged after his estranged wife took out a restraining order against him, a Pearl River area man ambushed his family Wednesday afternoon, shooting his wife and young son to death with a shotgun and wounding his two daughters after ramming their car off the road in a subdivision near Mandeville, authorities said.
James Magee was arrested several hours later in Mobile when 11 Alabama state troopers surrounded his truck, ending an intensive manhunt involving scores of law-enforcement officers across the north shore.
The horrific scene unfolded shortly before 5 p.m. in the Tall Timbers subdivision north of Mandeville, where Magee chased his wife's gray Toyota Scion for several blocks, ramming it from behind repeatedly until she lost control and crashed into a tree at Nestor and Thackery streets, Sheriff Jack Strain said.
As she tried to get out of the vehicle, Magee stepped out of the truck and shot her in the head with a 12-gauge shotgun loaded with buckshot, killing her instantly, Strain said. He then opened fire on his children as they tried to flee the vehicle.
Magee's 5-year-old son was hit in the head and fell dead in the street. A 7-year-old daughter was shot in the chest, while her 8-year-old sister escaped with cuts from broken glass when a window on the vehicle shattered, Strain said.
As Magee sped away in his pickup, stunned residents rushed from their homes to begin CPR on the victims. A paramedic who attended to the girl with the chest wound said that when he asked her who had shot her, she said, "My daddy did."
Authorities did not release the victims' names, but newspaper reports on the birth of two of the couple's children indicate the wife's name was Adrienne Magee, 28, and their son was Ashton Zachery Magee.
The 7-year-old daughter's name is Aleisha Brook Magee, according to one of the announcements.
Tall Timbers resident Del Bryars was sitting in his kitchen with the window open when he heard vehicles crashing together, prompting him to step outside with his wife and daughter.
"I heard the woman screaming, 'No! No! No! No!'¤" he said. Then he saw a man raise a shotgun at her.
As a shotgun blast rang out, Bryars yelled to his wife and daughter, "Holy Christ, he shot that woman! Get inside!"
He then heard several more shots before the gunman drove off.
Bryars approached the scene and saw a wounded boy lying on ground, his chest heaving, he said. Two girls were in the back seat of the vechile, one covered in blood.
The girls were trying to crawl over a seat and out the back. One said: "I'm not hurt. He's my daddy." Bryars said.
The girls wandered over to the dying boy and Bryars led them to his garage until police arrived.
"Why did he have to take a life? Bryars said.
Detectives notified law-enforcement agencies throughout the region to be on the lookout for Magee, who was last seen driving a white 2006 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.
"He killed or tried to kill everyone in his own family so you can only imagine what else he might be capable of," Strain said before Magee was captured. "There is a very real possibility that he continues this ramapge unles we stop him first."
About an hour after the shootings, sheriff's negotiators reached Magee on his cell phone and spoke with him on and off for a total of about 90 minutes, the sheriff said.
Magee told deputies he was in St. Tammany Parish and would turn himself in, but Strain said detectives "used technology at our disposal" to determine Magee was actually heading to Alabama.
Detectives contacted Alabama State Police, who pulled Magee over shortly after 8 p.m. and made the arrest without incident. The shotgun that detectives believe was used in the shooting was recovered from the truck.
Magee's wife took out a restraining order against him after they had a domestic dispute that turned physical within the past few days, said Strain, who did not have details about the incident.
Magee was served with the restraining order Tuesday at his home at 70201 Louisiana 41, about five miles north of Pearl River. Strain said that's likely what prompted the shootings.
"As hard as it is to think about someone killing his wife, to turn on your young son and gun him down in the street defies anything I could possibly imagine," the sheriff said.
He said Magee's wife and children had recently moved in with friends or relatives in Tall Timbers. Detectives said Magee apparently knew she lived there and may have been waiting for her near the subdivision's entrance.
"She had apparently taken all the right steps to protect herself and her children," Strain said. "She had separated herself physically and had taken out a restraining order. I don't know what else she could have done and still lived a normal life."
Bill Graffagnini, who lives about a block from the scene, said he came home from work and was taking a walk when a white pickup roared past him. He estimated the truck was traveling at 75 mph.
A short time later, he heard four shots but didn't see anything. He went inside his home and soon heard deputies and ambulances arriving.
"This is unbelievable ," he said. "Society is crazy. People just turn to violence so easily."
Paul Rioux can be reached at prioux@timespicayune.com or 985 645-2852. Bruce Hamilton can be reached at bhamilton@timespicayune.com or 985 898-4827.
Mother, son killed near Mandeville; estranged husband arrested in Alabama
Posted by Paul Rioux and Bruce Hamilton April 18, 2007 6:15PM
Categories: Breaking News
Enraged after his estranged wife took out a restraining order against him, a Pearl River area man ambushed his family Wednesday afternoon, shooting his wife and young son to death with a shotgun and wounding his two daughters after ramming their car off the road in a subdivision near Mandeville, authorities said.
James Magee was arrested several hours later in Mobile when 11 Alabama state troopers surrounded his truck, ending an intensive manhunt involving scores of law-enforcement officers across the north shore.
The horrific scene unfolded shortly before 5 p.m. in the Tall Timbers subdivision north of Mandeville, where Magee chased his wife's gray Toyota Scion for several blocks, ramming it from behind repeatedly until she lost control and crashed into a tree at Nestor and Thackery streets, Sheriff Jack Strain said.
As she tried to get out of the vehicle, Magee stepped out of the truck and shot her in the head with a 12-gauge shotgun loaded with buckshot, killing her instantly, Strain said. He then opened fire on his children as they tried to flee the vehicle.
Magee's 5-year-old son was hit in the head and fell dead in the street. A 7-year-old daughter was shot in the chest, while her 8-year-old sister escaped with cuts from broken glass when a window on the vehicle shattered, Strain said.
As Magee sped away in his pickup, stunned residents rushed from their homes to begin CPR on the victims. A paramedic who attended to the girl with the chest wound said that when he asked her who had shot her, she said, "My daddy did."
Authorities did not release the victims' names, but newspaper reports on the birth of two of the couple's children indicate the wife's name was Adrienne Magee, 28, and their son was Ashton Zachery Magee.
The 7-year-old daughter's name is Aleisha Brook Magee, according to one of the announcements.
Tall Timbers resident Del Bryars was sitting in his kitchen with the window open when he heard vehicles crashing together, prompting him to step outside with his wife and daughter.
"I heard the woman screaming, 'No! No! No! No!'¤" he said. Then he saw a man raise a shotgun at her.
As a shotgun blast rang out, Bryars yelled to his wife and daughter, "Holy Christ, he shot that woman! Get inside!"
He then heard several more shots before the gunman drove off.
Bryars approached the scene and saw a wounded boy lying on ground, his chest heaving, he said. Two girls were in the back seat of the vechile, one covered in blood.
The girls were trying to crawl over a seat and out the back. One said: "I'm not hurt. He's my daddy." Bryars said.
The girls wandered over to the dying boy and Bryars led them to his garage until police arrived.
"Why did he have to take a life? Bryars said.
Detectives notified law-enforcement agencies throughout the region to be on the lookout for Magee, who was last seen driving a white 2006 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.
"He killed or tried to kill everyone in his own family so you can only imagine what else he might be capable of," Strain said before Magee was captured. "There is a very real possibility that he continues this ramapge unles we stop him first."
About an hour after the shootings, sheriff's negotiators reached Magee on his cell phone and spoke with him on and off for a total of about 90 minutes, the sheriff said.
Magee told deputies he was in St. Tammany Parish and would turn himself in, but Strain said detectives "used technology at our disposal" to determine Magee was actually heading to Alabama.
Detectives contacted Alabama State Police, who pulled Magee over shortly after 8 p.m. and made the arrest without incident. The shotgun that detectives believe was used in the shooting was recovered from the truck.
Magee's wife took out a restraining order against him after they had a domestic dispute that turned physical within the past few days, said Strain, who did not have details about the incident.
Magee was served with the restraining order Tuesday at his home at 70201 Louisiana 41, about five miles north of Pearl River. Strain said that's likely what prompted the shootings.
"As hard as it is to think about someone killing his wife, to turn on your young son and gun him down in the street defies anything I could possibly imagine," the sheriff said.
He said Magee's wife and children had recently moved in with friends or relatives in Tall Timbers. Detectives said Magee apparently knew she lived there and may have been waiting for her near the subdivision's entrance.
"She had apparently taken all the right steps to protect herself and her children," Strain said. "She had separated herself physically and had taken out a restraining order. I don't know what else she could have done and still lived a normal life."
Bill Graffagnini, who lives about a block from the scene, said he came home from work and was taking a walk when a white pickup roared past him. He estimated the truck was traveling at 75 mph.
A short time later, he heard four shots but didn't see anything. He went inside his home and soon heard deputies and ambulances arriving.
"This is unbelievable ," he said. "Society is crazy. People just turn to violence so easily."
Paul Rioux can be reached at prioux@timespicayune.com or 985 645-2852. Bruce Hamilton can be reached at bhamilton@timespicayune.com or 985 898-4827.