Krystal Evans: Georgia Mother Shot and Killed Outside Courthouse Minutes After Divorce
Krystal Evans, formally Krystal Mallory, was trying to leave her "toxic" marriage before the worst happened. But it did. The 44-year-old woman was shot to death outside the Spalding County, Georgia, courthouse just moments after her divorce was finalized.
Griffin Police immediately announced Tom Mallory, her ex-husband, as the suspect, and a judge issued a warrant for his arrest. Instead he shot himself and was rushed to the hospital.
According to witnesses, Mallory and his estranged wife got into separate cars outside the courthouse -- that's when gunshots rang out. Mallory shot her several times from his car window and sped off by the time deputies heard the gunshots.
Krystal's daughter Precious Evans said before things turned deadly, it could have been resolved. Now she feels lost.
"I feel like I don't have nobody," Precious told Atlanta TV station 11Alive. "I don't have nobody to lean on, to comfort me."
Precious said her mother didn't shield her from her ugly divorce and that she was looking forward to a new life.
"She was so happy after her divorce. She felt free," Precious said. "We were even talking about doing a party."
He says the couple were leaving the courthouse after a hearing when they got into separate cars. While some have said that the victim asked for a sheriff’s deputy escort and was refused, that has not been substantiated.
Because of the rumors circulating the sheriff made a Facebook post that provides some details of the deadly encounter as well as a jagged history of the Mallorys’ previous dealings with law enforcement.
He writes: “For a fact, the person that started the rumor that Mrs. Mallory asked for an escort has admitted that it was a lie. Clerks in the Magistrate Office were asked, not a Deputy, and a Deputy was never requested by anyone to escort her. Video from the lobby shows that as Mrs. Mallory walked through the lobby, she passed Deputies and did not ask for assistance either. She walked out of the courthouse to her car that was parallel parked facing north on 6th St., and entered it. Mr. Mallory, who was in a second car, travelled north on 6th St. with the traffic flow, stopped beside her car where she was sitting, fired multiple rounds through the passenger side window of his car, and the rounds struck her. There were Deputies on the front of the courthouse and when they heard the shots they responded. Mr. Mallory by this time was driving off, and turned east on Solomon Street. A marked police unit got behind him and Mr. Mallory refused to stop. When he finally did stop, he shot himself in the head. He is still alive. Yes, in the past we have received multiple calls to the Mallory’s residence. Both would claim that the other started the fights. On occasions where witnesses were present and interviewed by deputies they said they didn‘t see anything, or said it didn‘t happen like it was described by either Mr. Or Mrs. Mallory. On other occasions it was her word against his, or his word against hers with no marks on either except old bruising, or no marks at all. On one occasion when furniture and other items were damaged, both agreed that the fight was mutual, and they both caused the damage observed by Deputies. There was information given about services available to them for help and counseling.
Under Georgia’s Family violence law it says that the primary aggressor “shall” be arrested. If witnesses didn’t see anything, say that what they saw was not what was described by either party, both parties say they both fought mutually, all marks or bruising appear to be old, and there is no physical evidence found, no arrest can be made. There were times when she claimed he hit her or pulled a gun on her, there were times where he said she got angry hit him, and shot at him. This was by all definitions a toxic relationship. In these situations where no one can be determined to be the primary aggressor, both parties are given information about contacting a Magistrate Judge on their own to see if the Judge, after a hearing, will issue a warrant.
On one occasion Mr. Mallory was in fact arrested by Deputies, but posted bond. We are tracking down who posted his bond.
He was at the courthouse, just as she was, for their hearing. From what we can find, the only people that were at that hearing were the Mallory’s, their attorneys, the Judge, and a friend of Mrs. Mallory. (Who is the same person that started the lie about asking a Deputy for an escort).They are the only ones who know for a fact what was said and what happened. I cannot speak about a Judge’s decision or orders. No one is picking one person over the other or believing one over the other. No one is blaming Mrs. Mallory for what happened to her. We have to take facts and evidence and weigh them against the law in order to act. This is a horrible thing that happened and people are emotional and angry about it. Mrs. Mallory’s family believes she did no wrong and he was bad guy. Mr. Mallory’s family believes he did no wrong and she is the bad guy. Everyone else picks a side to stand with. Deputies don’t have the option to arrest based on who has the most followers, that’s not how it works.”
DON’T HAVE TO BE A VICTIM!
Read the warning signs of a hurtful relationship.
If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts or practicing self-harm, contact the the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) any time. Online live chat is also available. Crisis Text Line also provides free, 24/7, confidential support via text message to people in crisis when they dial 741741. If you are experiencing domestic abuse, for assistance, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
