Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more!
Texas Man Accused Of Tracking Down Estranged Wife With GPS, Gunning Her Down Amid Her Efforts To Leave Him
Ashley Barlow's sister said the long-time probation officer had endured years of domestic violence and had been "finally ready to break away" from her husband Terry Barlow when she was fatally shot in the chest outside a local business.
A Texas man tracked his estranged wife to a Beaumont store, chased her down and fatally shot her in the chest outside the building before turning himself into authorities, according to police.
Terry Barlow, 53, is now facing charges of murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for the death of his 37-year-old wife Ashley Barrow, who family members say had been planning to divorce Terry after years of abuse, according to local station KMBT-KJAC. Another man was also at the scene and was shot at, but not injured, police said.
Beaumont Police were called to the 600 block of Langham Rd. at 5:54 p.m. Saturday after receiving reports that shots had been fired, according to a statement from police.
Terry allegedly told investigators after the fatal shooting that he had placed a GPS tracker on Ashley’s vehicle and followed her to a local business, where a witness told authorities he was angry and began to argue with his wife, according to a probable cause statement obtained by KFDM.
Terry allegedly pulled out a weapon, but then drove off in his truck.
“The suspect did not stay gone long,” the affidavit stated.
Police said Terry returned to the scene a second time and chased his wife and another man, firing multiple shots at them. Ashley, a longtime probation officer, was struck several times in the chest and died at the scene.
The violent exchange was captured on surveillance footage, police said.
According to authorities, Terry initially fled the scene in his truck but later returned and surrendered to Beaumont Police.
“He stated he had taken his wife's 380 handgun and had it in his pocket. He also possessed his Smith and Wesson 40 caliber and that he really messed up, that he ruined his life and his children's life,” the affidavit stated.
Terry allegedly told police that he got rid of the .380, but did not know where the other weapon was. He decided to return to the scene because he “wanted to make things right,” authorities said.
Ashley’s sister, Amanda Buck, told KMBT-KJAC that Ashley had suffered years of domestic violence before she decided to leave the relationship for good and was “finally ready to break away from him” at the time of the murder.
She believes Terry killed her sister because she had wanted a divorce.
“He took his children's mother from them and they were her life. She was a hard worker and she persevered over the abuse to obtain a degree and give her children the best life possible,” Buck said.
She now plans to raise the couple’s children.
“All I have left of my sister is her children and I will raise them to her standards and let them know every day how much their mother loved them,” she said.
Terry is currently being held on a $1 million bond for the murder charge against him and a $500,000 bond in connection with the aggravated assault charge.
