Far East Side man dead after chase with police
Thursday, July 7, 2011 03:21 AM
BY STEPHANIE CZEKALINSKI AND JIM WOODS
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Three weeks before she died, Jennifer Blake told authorities that her husband had pointed a loaded Smith & Wesson 9 mm handgun at her head and told her that they were both going to die.
It was no idle threat.
Jennifer Blake, 28, was found dead yesterday morning in her driveway on the Far East Side, Columbus police said. She had been shot in the head.
Her husband, Jack Blake Jr., 32, was dead by yesterday evening, having shot himself as law-enforcement officers surrounded the SUV he was in after a chase from Hocking County into Fairfield County.
Police say they think that Mr. Blake shot his wife shortly after 5 a.m. in front of the family home at 8674 Brenstuhl Park Dr., near the Licking County line.
The Blakes' three children, ages 11, 9 and 15 months, were inside when their mother was killed.
Authorities say the children didn't witness the shooting. They were placed in the custody of Franklin County Children Services and were expected to be placed with family.
A murder charge was filed against Mr. Blake within hours of his wife's death.
Law-enforcement sources said that Blake was spotted about 6:45 p.m. in Hocking County driving a Ford Escape with Arizona plates that he'd rented.
The Hocking County sheriff's office began following him at Lake Logan on Lake Logan Road.
He was chased for about 14miles west on Rt. 33 into Fairfield County, where the State Highway Patrol also began following him. The chase ended when authorities blew out the tires on Blake's vehicle with stop sticks. Authorities say that Blake shot himself as deputies and troopers surrounded the SUV.
Late last night, Mrs. Blake's mother, Annette Shamblin of Ashville, spoke briefly about her daughter.
"She was a truly wonderful person, and she loved her kids more than anything," Shamblin said.
Court documents offer a glimpse into the couple's troubled marriage.
Mr. Blake was indicted on a felony kidnapping charge on June 22, stemming from a June 12 incident.
Mrs. Blake told authorities that her husband had held her at gunpoint in their car for two hours. According to court documents, he was delivering newspapers and threatening her with the gun as he did so.
Mr. Blake delivered The Dispatch as an independent contractor. His contract was terminated on June 13 when, after his arrest, he didn't show up to cover his route. The newspaper found out about his arrest later that day.
According to court documents, Mrs. Blake was freed by her husband after she calmed him.
But Mrs. Blake filed a restraining order against her husband on June 13. In the petition, she said that he had thrown her, choked and kicked her, and threatened to kill her on previous occasions.
"I just don't know what to do," she told a police dispatcher when she called to report the kidnapping. "I'm really scared."
The couple had been having marital problems, but Mr. Blake denied threatening her with a weapon, said Terry K. Sherman, Mr. Blake's attorney.
Sherman said that his client had moved into his parents' home in Lockbourne and wasn't aware that there was a felony warrant for his arrest on the kidnapping charge.
The day before Mrs. Blake died, deputies with the Franklin County sheriff's office went to her Brenstuhl Park Drive home looking for Mr. Blake to arrest him on the warrant, but no one was home.
Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said that deputies went to Mrs. Blake's home because it was the best address they had for Mr. Blake. The Lockbourne address is listed on the restraining order but wasn't on the kidnapping warrant.
WBNS-TV (Channel 10) and Dispatch reporter Randy Ludlow contributed to this report.
sczekalinski@dispatch.com
jwoods@dispatch.com
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