Neighbor of murdered Tampa teacher once saved her life
TAMPA (FOX 13) - Three months before she was killed by her obsessed ex-husband, court records show a Tampa woman's life was saved by her neighbor.
Deputies in Georgia say on Thursday afternoon, Kelley McDonald killed his ex-wife, Kelly Garrison after arriving at her sister's house.
Her sister was also killed before he turned the gun on himself.
John Wise was the neighbor who saved her back in December.
For months, he had been walking her to her car every morning, knowing her ex-husband often looked for her.
On December 30th, he broke through her front door when he heard screaming.
"There was a woman screaming, screaming like I have never heard before," he said of the incident last year. "When I kicked the door in, I could hear an extreme deep breath come from her."
Wise says McDonald was trying to choke her to death.
McDonald had broken into Garrison's home, dressed in black and wearing a spotlight on his head.
Later, Garrison wrote in court papers, "I was praying for God to not let me die like that and to not leave my daughter without a mother."
Wise fought McDonald off until he ran away.
Garrison went to court January 2nd for a restraining order.
She was armed with eight-page of records, detailing 84 terrifying incidents.
Starting in April of 2016, she said her then-husband wouldn't let her wear bathing suits, that he blocked her bank account, that he left loaded guns around her toddler, and that he stole her passwords and tracked her phone or car.
Following the December incident, McDonald had an arrest warrant and a restraining order that stipulated he give up his guns.
"We had him on our radar, but we didn't have a lot of information as to where he was," said Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan. "It's one of those things you do the best you can to find people, that's why they're on CrimeStoppers and we rely on tips and people to give us information, and that is truly a tragic ending."
Garrison told the court McDaniel was homeless.
Three months after he almost killed her, he drove to her sister's house in Georgia, the place she thought she would finally be safe.
"Me finding out what has gone on at this point is just unbelievable," said Wise.
McDonald turned the gun on himself.
Garrison was a teacher at Corbett Prep School in Carrollwood.
A representative from the school says everyone there is heartbroken.