PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Investigators say the woman shot and killed by her estranged husband in front of her children in West Palm Beach on Friday had a restraining order filed against him from a previous domestic violence incident.
Police say Jamie Felix was shot and killed by her estranged husband, Ray Felix, in front of their 17 and 10-year-old sons in West Palm Beach after Ray Felix abducted Jamie Felix and their two children in Port St. Lucie, eventually taking them all to West Palm Beach.
Police say 60-year-old Ray Felix made 45-year-old Jamie Felix drive to West Palm Beach in her vehicle, while Ray Felix forced his two kids to drive in a separate rental car while following them.
Investigators say after arriving at a Quality Inn on Belvedere Road, Ray Felix shot and killed Jamie Felix in front of their children outside the motel before he drove to a nearby rental car place by himself, where he shot and killed himself as police approached.
Court documents show Ray Felix and Jamie Felix filed for divorce last October and a few days later, Ray Felix was arrested for battery against Jamie Felix after police say he grabbed her and threw her to the ground. They had an upcoming divorce hearing scheduled for June.
Last Friday, police say Jamie Felix’s coworkers received an email from her saying that she made up that domestic violence incident, which they thought was suspicious.
The Port St. Lucie Port Chief says at that point, a coworker told police the email was suspicious and that Jamie Felix already had a restraining order against Ray Felix.
Police looked for both Jamie Felix and Ray Felix, eventually learning the vehicle they were in was at the Quality Inn in West Palm Beach, where Ray Felix shot and killed Jamie Felix in front of their children, before leaving by himself to go to a nearby car rental place- where he killed himself.
"We received a hit on the vehicle being driven by the suspect that led us to the Quality Inn off West Palm in Belvedere and that’s when we contacted West Palm and they had already been at that scene dealing with the murder-suicide and that’s when we put two and two together,” said Port St. Lucie Police Chief Richard Del Toro.
St Lucie Public Schools leaders confirm not only was Jamie Felix a teacher at Manatee Academy in Port St. Lucie, but Ray Felix was a maintenance worker, paraprofessional and behavioral technician there until he resigned shortly after being charged with domestic battery last October.
Friends and students of Jamie Felix say she was a caring person who loved her children and students dearly.
