Loved ones of a woman killed Saturday by the husband she feared would eventually take her life say they hope to prevent another family from going through the same heartache by sharing her story.
Kristi Bice's brother and sister say her husband Stephen isolated her and her sons, monitoring most of her interactions with others before he eventually took her life at her home in Hudson, Ohio.
"He kept her away from us for years. He was very controlling,” Kristi's brother, Ronald Kennedy, told NBC Chicago. "He listened to her phone calls. When she talked to anyone, he would tell her what to say."
“She wasn’t allowed to come to birthday parties or Christmas. She would give excuses but I’m sure it was him,” Kristi's sister Michelle Bender said. “He isolated that little family from everybody.”
Kristi's 13-, 16-, and 18-year-old sons had started Spring Break a day before they drove up at noon on Sunday to find the door of their home in the 7000 block of Ravenna Road open. Inside, the eldest son found the bodies of Kristi and Stephen. He told his younger siblings to stay back and call 911.
Before the tragedy, Stephen texted the three teens to meet at a Fun-N-Stuff amusement park in Macedonia to discuss problems within the family, police reports show. The boys debated not leaving their mother Kristi alone because their father had previously threatened to kill her.
Their 13-year-old son slept on the couch with a baseball bat since February to protect his mother, Kennedy said.
U.S. & World
Kristi texted her adult daughter that she was suspicious of her husband’s plan.
"Boys get there and he isn't there," Kristi texted, according to the reports. "I hope he isn't planning on getting them out of the house so he can blow me up."
Stephen broke into the home with a 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun, according to police reports. He shot Kristi four times: once in the left thigh, once in the right leg and once in the stomach. Finally, he shot her once in the head at close range.
As he stood over her, he used his final bullet to shoot himself, according to police.
In police documents provided to NBC Chicago, Stephen is frequently referred to as an alcoholic. Documents also show he was arrested on Jan. 14, after he threatened to kill Kristi and himself. The next day, a Summit County judge temporarily approved a protection order meant to keep him from contacting her or being close to her.
The protection order was extended the following month to last until Jan. 15, 2021.
"She was a wonderful mother to her boys and would do anything for them. I truly believe the only reason she stayed in the abusive relationship for so long is she truly believed his threats that he was going to kill her and her boys," Kennedy said.
The family is making funeral arrangements.
Ronald Kennedy told NBC Chicago Kristi's sons are "devastated." One of the boys has autism and has special needs. Money from a GoFundMe account will go to a trust fund for the teens.
Although the family is going through such sadness, they want Kristi's story heard.
“We hated that our sister was going through that and I would never want to see another family go through it,” said Ronald Kennedy, who happens to be a detective at the Akron Police Department. "The victims feel like they are trapped half the time and things need to change."
