Glasgow, DE: Victim of abuse slays ex, police say

Late Thursday, Gregory W. Thompson drove to his ex-wife's Glasgow home, got a short ladder and placed it on the overhang above the rear deck, according to police. He climbed to her third-floor bedroom window, slipped inside and started beating her as she lay sleeping, they said.

But after a year-and-a-half of getting protection-from-abuse orders because of previous violence, his ex-wife had a gun -- and it was nearby.

As Thompson was punching her in the face, she grabbed the weapon and fatally shot him, police said.

After that, at about 11:32 p.m., she ran out and called 911 to report the shooting inside her home in the 300 block of Norman Drive in the Eagle Trace Townhouses of Glasgow.

The 57-year-old Thompson, who was living in Pennsylvania, was pronounced dead at the scene, said New Castle County Police Senior Cpl. Trinidad Navarro. His ex-wife was taken to Christiana Hospital with chest pains and facial injuries, he said.

A next-door neighbor, who did not want to give her name, said she was reading downstairs and did not hear anything. But her roommate, who was upstairs, heard noises and went outside to check the rear deck, but didn't see anything.

Seconds later, the ex-wife rang their doorbell.

"He came back and I shot him," she said, according to the neighbor. Then she walked away.

"She is a genuine, good-hearted woman," the neighbor said. "She's really nice and would do anything for anybody. I have nothing bad to say about her."

No charges have been filed against the ex-wife pending a review of the case by the state Attorney General's Office, which would not comment Friday.

The ex-wife's situation also is not uncommon.

Twelve people were killed in domestic violence incidents in Delaware last year, according to the state Domestic Violence Coordinating Council. So far this year, there have been seven killings.

What makes the case unusual is that the abused partner is the one who killed the abuser, experts said.

"In reality, it's a pretty rare occurrence," said Carol Post, executive director of the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence. "It's clear that this woman was very afraid of this man." At the time of the shooting, the ex-wife had an active protection-from-abuse order against her ex-husband, which he violated Oct. 3 by damaging her car by scratching it with a key, Navarro said. A warrant was issued for Thompson's arrest, he said.

Officers at the time could not locate him. But they were able to reach him by phone and told Thompson to turn himself in, Navarro.

He refused and wouldn't give police his address.

A protection order was issued against Thompson on April 13, 2009, and modified on April 17, 2009, according to Family Court records. It expired one year later.

Others were issued Aug. 31 and Sept. 10 and modified Sept. 24.

Thompson filed a protection order against his ex-wife on Sept. 24, claiming she had made false statements "saying I was bothering or harassing her," according to the document.

Post said that's a standard tactic used by abusers to maintain control and force the abused partner back into court.

"We certainly support the fact that anyone can file a petition, but you have to make your case in court," Post said. "We do often see that type of manipulative tactic by partners of longtime victims. In cases like this, where a number of PFAs are in place, the abusive partner is not going to let go."

In 2009, there were 28,314 domestic-violence incidents reported in Delaware -- 15,905 of them were considered criminal incidents, according to the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council. Of the criminal incidents, 2,912 resulted in physical injury -- 45 more than in 2008.

Bridget Poulle, the council's executive director, said the number of domestic-related deaths fell from 18 in 2008 to 12 in 2009.

"She was a victim, and thank God she came out of this alive," she said. "But here's the thing. This is not a jilted lover, because a lover doesn't make their very existence depend on destroying you. He went to great lengths to get to her. That's a loss of control and it can be very abusive."

Nearly 1,800 protection-from-abuse orders were issued in Delaware last year, she said.

"In the majority of homicides, there was no PFA in place," Post said. "We do believe they offer a layer of protection. But the PFA is only as good as the respect that the abusive partner has for that order. If the abusive party is bent on having contact with the victim, it does no good."