Angry over divorce, SC man shoots ex-wife’s attorney, then himself, at lawyer’s office

SC man kills ex-wife’s lawyer, then himself

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Authorities say a South Carolina man was distraught over drawn-out divorce proceedings when he shot and killed his ex-wife’s attorney, then turned the gun on himself.

Pickens Police Chief Tommy Ellenburg says Jerry Dean Crenshaw shot J. Redmond Coyle several times Wednesday afternoon behind the attorney’s office. Both men were 61.

Harold Welborn, clerk of court in Pickens County, says Crenshaw and his wife filed for divorce in 2007. It was finalized in 2009, but the couple was still haggling over how to split up property they had owned together.

Just last week, a judge had ordered Crenshaw and his wife to sell a home they co-owned and split the proceeds.

Ellenburg says investigators found a note in Crenshaw’s car indicating he had planned the attack.