NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — Court documents reveal there were multiple allegations of abuse against a man who police say shot his wife, and then himself, in Newport News last week.
The man died, but his wife remains in the hospital. 33-year-old Brittany Shazier is now in stable condition at Riverside Regional Medical Center.
Police have not said what led to the shooting, but there is evidence of alleged abuse in three protective orders Brittany Shazier filed against her husband in the year leading up to the shooting.
One order was dismissed, but two others detail allegations of physical abuse in a failing marriage.
“I worry about her children,” Brittany Shazier’s close friend Amethyst Fisher said. “She is a very strong woman, so there is not much she can’t get through.”
Brittany Shazier’s close friends, including Fisher, had been worried about her husband Jonathan, who they described as violent in the relationship.
“There have been multiple restraining orders that have been ineffective — or either not severe enough — or when there were violations they were not taken seriously,” Fisher added.
According to court documents, last March, Jonathan Shazier allegedly “pushed [Brittany] to the floor causing bruising to the tail bone and disconnected the battery to her car so she could not leave their home.”
A few days later: “[Jon] allegedly grabbed her keys from her hand, causing the key ring to break and cutting her hand.”
“This spouse is the victim whether that be physical abuse, mental abuse, torment. My friend has been trying to go the correct route (through the judicial system),” Fisher said.
Seven months after the March allegations, in October, Brittany reported her husband to police again.
The officer wrote in the report that Brittany Shazier claimed “[he] started arguing with her about the location of his work boots … he grabbed her arm and then pulled the phone out of her hand … he then ran out of the house.”
The complaint affidavit states that Brittany was recording this rant to give her attorney because the two were going through the divorce process.
Jonathan was charged with assault and battery in connection with the October incident.
“She’s a mother,” Fisher said of Brittany Shazier. “A good person in our community. She has more strength, and I don’t know where she gets it from, especially knowing what she has had to endure in her house from a human bring who is supposed to love her.”
Just a week before the shooting, Jonathan pleaded “no contest” to the assault and battery charge. This means he accepted a conviction but did not admit guilt.
A long-term protective order against Jonathan was set to expire in May. He could not be at the home between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m., so that means at the time of the shooting just after noon he was allowed to be in the home.
The fact he was allowed to be in the house at the time of day when the shooting happened is what Brittany Shazier’s friends take issue with.
Helping Brittany
A GoFundMe started to help Brittany Shazier has raised nearly $7,000 as of Monday afternoon.
The funds will assist Brittany Shazier and her seven children, according to the fundraiser page.
The description for the GoFundMe is short: “Brittany was the victim of domestic violence and has been hospitalized. We want to raise money to help with her 7 children and the hospital expenses. Anything you can give will be a blessing!”
As of 3:30 p.m. Monday, the page had raised $6,870 from 108 donors.
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Brittany social media indicates she has seven children — one picture shows her dressed as Snow White with the children dressed as the seven dwarfs.