A Michigan man traveled to upstate New York to find his estranged wife, fatally shooting her before taking his own life more than 200 miles away, police said.
Norman Lohr Jr., 50, followed Melissa Pelc-Lohr to her home in Brushton, N.Y., on Oct. 27 and shot her multiple times in the head, according to New York State Police.
The shooting prompted a 200-mile manhunt that ended in Lyons, N.Y., where Lohr fatally shot himself, authorities said.
“Norman was crazy — he was obsessed with my mom — and no one did anything,” Melissa’s daughter, Allison Pelc, who also lives in Michigan, said in a Facebook video.
Pelc said she obtained two orders of protection because she did not feel safe, but claimed Lohr violated them at least three times without facing consequences.
A court hearing had been set for Oct. 28 in Michigan regarding his previous violations of one of the restraining orders.
The murder-suicide occurred only days after Pelc-Lohr returned home from celebrating her daughter’s 30th birthday in Las Vegas.
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“My mom was murdered. She was taken from me, from our family, and from everyone who loved her,” Pelc wrote on Facebook.
Investigators discovered Pelc-Lohr’s body at her home last Tuesday and quickly identified her ex-husband as a suspect. Officers located him in Wayne County, more than 200 miles away, and attempted to stop him.
Lohr sped away when he saw the flashing police lights, leading troopers on a high-speed pursuit. Police said his tires were eventually disabled by a spike strip, causing his vehicle to leave the road.
When a SWAT team approached the truck, officers found Lohr dead from a gunshot wound to the head, police said.
Pelc recalled asking an officer, “are we going to wait until I’m actually dead?” after being told that state law limited the officer’s ability to arrest Lohr for violating a stay-away order.
In Michigan, violating a personal protection order is not independently classified as a crime. Instead, it is handled as contempt of court, carrying a maximum penalty of 93 days in jail and a $500 fine. Victims typically must return to court themselves to pursue action against the alleged abuser.
“I guess what it took for me to get justice is for her to not be here anymore,” Pelc said of her mother’s killing.