Domestic violence preceded Scottsdale murder-suicide

The 33-year-old Scottsdale woman who police said was fatally shot by her estranged husband before he killed himself on Tuesday had requested a protective order against him in 2009 because she feared for her life and he had weapons in the house, according to court records.

Scottsdale police identified the woman as Sarah Drewer and her estranged husband as Douglas Drewer, 46.

The grisly scene unfolded at about 8:30 a.m. in a neighborhood near 68th Street and Chaparral Road.

A construction worker heard a child screaming for help, crossed the street and saw the Drewers struggling inside a home for control of a handgun, according to Scottsdale police Officer Kevin Watts, a department spokesman.

The worker wrestled the gun away and quickly led Sarah Drewer and her child from the home, Watts said. Douglas Drewer stayed in the house and emerged seconds later with another handgun. He told the construction worker to take the child away, which he did, before shooting Sarah Drewer and committing suicide, Watts said.

Police took custody of the child, who was unharmed, and the child's sibling, who was not home at the time, Watts said.

The 2009 petition said Douglas Drewer had hit his wife in the past and had also been abusive toward her then 3-year-old daughter. The order was issued more than a week after Sarah Drewer gave birth to their son, now 5 years old, according to the petition.

"He was screaming and throwing things," she wrote. "He has a history of this sort of violent behavior, and I'm afraid for my children and me."

Scottsdale police had served Douglas Drewer with a separate protection order Friday and removed him and several firearms from the home, Watts said. The guns were later impounded. The Republic was unable to immediately obtain a copy of the latest order.

Melissa Chouinard, who lives in the neighborhood, had just put two of her three daughters on the school bus when she heard the loud noises that she later learned were gunshots.

"It was just horrible," Chouinard said.

Police are responsible for enforcing a protective order, but there is not a team of officers who follow a victim around to make sure the other person leaves them alone, Watts said, adding that Scottsdale police encourage victims to always be aware of their surrounding and call 911 if the order is violated.

It is a misdemeanor to violate a protective order.

Such orders can help authorities sift through the dynamics of bad relationships held together by financial or emotional ties because the orders come from a court and give police clear cut instructions on when to act, Watts said.

"It's a level of protection for victims, but it obviously is just a piece of paper," he said.

Sarah Drewer had likely been stuck in a cycle of violence that may have included codependency, depression and fear, according to Patricia Martinez, a family support specialist at Chicanos Por La Causa De Colores, a domestic-violence refuge in Phoenix. She recommends domestic-violence victims to seek professional help, family support and a new place to live so the abuser cannot find them.

Those looking to help someone stuck in an abusive relationship can help provide educational resources, but they must also understand a person cannot be forced to leave a relationship.

"The only person who can make the decision to leave an abusive relationship is the victim," Martinez said in Spanish.

Republic reporter Kaila White contributed to this story.