Fruitland Park, FL: Woman killed by husband feared his violent threats

Orlando Sentinel, The (FL) - Thursday, May 14, 2009

Author: Anthony Colarossi and Stephen Hudak, Sentinel Staff Writers

FRUITLAND PARK -- The woman killed in a brutal murder-suicide at a bait-and-tackle shop late Tuesday had sought protection from her husband and alleged in court documents that he had threatened to kill her.

Tonya Warren, 36, wrote that her husband, Ronnie Alan Warren, had a violent "fit of anger" in an early March incident, according to her petition seeking an injunction for protection against domestic violence filed April 17 in Lake County circuit court.

"He snatched my arms around, picked me up, threw me on the bed and sat on me for two hours, saying he would see me dead before he let me leave," Tonya Warren wrote in the petition.

Describing another February incident, she wrote that her husband went through her house and truck "searching for a firearm, stating he would kill me if he found it and possibly kill himself."

Police say that Tuesday night, Ronnie Warren, 51, shot Tonya Warren at Cain Pole South Bait and Tackle shop in Fruitland Park. They said the couple had been arguing. He then shot and killed himself.

The couple's young son will live with relatives, police said.

A hearing on Tonya Warren's request for the injunction was set for early June.

Fruitland Park police Chief J.M. Isom said Tonya Warren went to their business at 3337 U.S. Highway 441 with relatives to take inventory because the two were going through a divorce. County court records do not show that the couple had filed for divorce.

Tonya Warren's petition stated that on April 16, Ronnie Warren refused to let her leave the house and accused her of being unfaithful.

He told her that she "would never get a divorce because he has 'pull' in the system and if I somehow get a divorce there's no way I will ever get custody of our child."

Ronnie Warren left that day and went looking for "the friend he thought I was with before coming home, stating he would beat him to a pulp if he found him," according to Tonya Warren's filing.

In the filing, Tonya Warren noted that her husband had pistols, hunting rifles and shotguns.

She also asked that her husband be ordered to take part in treatment and counseling services.

The temporary order issued by Lake Circuit Judge Michael Takac forbid Ronnie Warren from having a gun.

The judge was set to consider a more-permanent order June 2. Thomas Holden, a lawyer hired by Warren in late April, sought a delay of that proceeding, arguing that Tonya Warren was "not afraid of [Ronnie Warren] as she has initiated contact" with him after receiving the temporary order.