Posted on Sun, Feb. 27, 2005
Suburban St. Louis man dies in wreck after estranged wife, friend shot
Associated Press
ST. LOUIS - A suburban St. Louis man shot and killed his estranged wife and another woman before dying in a high-speed crash, police said.
Town and Country police said John Alexander, 38, shot his estranged wife, Kelli Alexander, 35, and her friend April Wheeler, 29, on Friday - days before a child custody hearing was to be held.
Police Cpl. Jeff Myer said John Alexander waited in his sport utility vehicle for his wife to drive by as she and their children headed to a church fish fry.
He pulled in front of his wife to block her way, got out, and killed her with a 9mm handgun, then shot Wheeler who was following Kelli Alexander in a separate vehicle, Myer said. The Alexanders' three children witnessed the shootings.
Not long after, John Alexander led police on a high-speed chase on U.S. Highway 40 reaching speeds of more than 100 mph, Myer said.
Police had broken off the chase when Alexander's SUV left the highway, flipped and crashed, police said, but Myer was unsure how long the pursuit had been called off when the crash occurred.
He was taken by ambulance to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead, Myer said. Investigators found the gun in the SUV, but no drugs or alcohol.
Myer said the couple was in the midst of a divorce had a history of domestic violence. The two were expected in St. Louis County family court on Monday.
Kelli Alexander's divorce attorney, Jody Wolff, said the slain woman left the couple's home in the suburb of Ballwin last month and got a restraining order against John Alexander. She was staying with Wheeler and her husband in St. Charles, also a St. Louis suburb.
Wolff said her client was seeking a protective order that would have required supervision for any visits between John Alexander and the children.