BOSSIER CITY -- Angela Haltom, the woman killed by her estranged husband outside the Bossier City church where she worked, spent the last three months in fear of her estranged husband, seeking a variety of legal channels to try to keep him away from her, court documents show.
Hours after she had gone to court on Tuesday to renew a protective order against her estranged husband, Mrs. Haltom, 44, was killed by a shotgun blast as she walked toward her car outside Bossier City's First Baptist Church, where she worked in the daycare.
Before she left the church, Mrs. Haltom had looked out the window to make sure her husband was not outside. But he was -- crouched down in a leased car she wouldn't recognize.
Allan Haltom, 45, then turned the gun on himself.
Court records show that over the past 12 weeks, Mrs. Haltom was threatened by her husband, filed for divorce, got two protective orders and asked sheriff's deputies to check on her:
-- Haltom, 45, was arrested for threatening his wife this past June after the couple separated. Bossier Parish sheriff's deputies said he lured her to their home in Dogwood on June 5 under the pretense she could get some personal belongings while he was at work. Haltom, who was hiding inside an armoire, burst out and held her, their teenage daughter, her boyfriend and another person at gunpoint, deputies said. He eventually released the others but kept his estranged wife inside the locked home with him. Haltom was arrested June 9 for assault and kidnapping, with bond set at $155,000.
-- Mrs. Haltom filed for divorce on June 6, citing the incident at their home and another one this past April in which she found a copy of a printout showing he had bought a handgun. She contacted the Sheriff's Department, which sent a deputy to check on her.
-- On June 9, she sought the protective order, which ordered Haltom to stay away from his estranged wife and their daughter. Attorneys for the couple later went to court and the protective order was extended to Aug. 30.
-- On June 10, Haltom's lawyer, Jarred Franklin of Bossier City, asked for a bond reduction, saying Haltom had ties to the community and was not a flight risk. Bossier District Judge Bruce Bolin granted it, setting bond at $20,000 with the conditions Haltom, who was retired from the Air Force, seek psychiatric evaluation at the VA Medical Center and also stay away from his wife. He was released from jail that day and went to the hospital.
The judge would not comment on his reasons for granting the bond reduction, which was done after a motion filed by the defense but without a hearing, court records indicate. Franklin did not return a call for comment.
Court records show the district attorney's office took no position on the bond reduction. D.A. Schuyler Marvin said Wednesday he had not been aware of the request to reduce bond.
-- Divorce papers were served on Haltom at the VA Medical Center on June 14. He was later released from the hospital. After his release he complied with orders to report to the sheriff's probation office, which was checking to make sure he obeyed conditions of his release. His last visit to a probation officer was this past Friday.
-- On Aug. 2, Haltom appeared in court in connection with the June 5 incident at their home. The D.A.'s office formally charged him with one count of aggravated assault, deciding not to prosecute him for kidnapping or assault on the other three people in the house.
-- On Tuesday, Mrs. Haltom went back to court to get a renewal of the protective order. It was extended until Nov. 15.
As Mrs. Haltom dealt with all those issues, friends said, she also was dealing with health problems affecting her mother, daughter and herself.
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