Former US Army intelligence analyst shot dead by ex-husband in front of her five-year-old daughter
Colleagues of a Wisconsin assistant state attorney described "the worst possible outcome of domestic violence" after she was fatally shot allegedly by her ex-husband on Saturday.
Ulisses W. Medina Espinosa, the former husband of 30-year-old Stacia Hollinshead, was arrested by authorities after the incident in Beaver Dam and is currently being remanded in custody at the Dodge County Detention Facility pending charges. It had now come to the fore that Hollinshead had already filed a protective order against Espinosa back in 2016, according to a Daily Mail report.
Authorities said that Hollinshead's five-year-old daughter was at the scene during the horrific shooting. According to Heavy, Hollinshead and Espinosa divorced in 2016 after she had a protective order filed against him in Dekalb County. However, it was soon waived.
Nonetheless, domestic violence charges are being considered, according to Bob Barrington, managing attorney of the Dodge County District Attorney's office, which is handling the case. He is expecting the charges to be filed by Tuesday, shared an ABC report.
Hollinshead, who worked as prosecutor and Army intelligence officer in the Dodge County, was killed in the first homicide the small town has seen since 1986.
"It’s a really quiet neighborhood. Neighbors know each other and take care of each other. You don’t expect to see anything like this on a quiet street like this," Brian Hartl told the outlet. "This was an isolated incident…This does not happen on this block of Third Street," Allie Hartl added.
"We haven’t had this kind of suspicious investigation in over 28 years that I’ve been with the Beaver Dam Police Department," Police Chief John Kreuziger agreed.
In a Facebook post mourning her death, Rick Amato of the Dekalb County State's Attorney called the incident the "worst possible outcome of domestic violence." Hollinshead had been working at the office since November.
"Although Stacia had been with our office only a few months, we quickly came to know her as a dedicated mother and prosecutor with a bright future in the practice of law," he posted on Sunday evening.
News of Stacia’s death has left us stunned, deeply saddened, struggling to understand how someone we cared for so much could be the victim of such an unimaginably violent act, and wondering how we could have helped her to prevent it."
He added, "Stacia’s tragic death drives home many points that we make constantly: Domestic violence is about power and control, it is learned behavior, it is present in all communities, it crosses all social and economic barriers, and it is preventable." Amato assured that the office will continue to work to "stop abusers who terrorize their partners and rip apart their families."
"Stacia is yet another face and heart to fight for, and a reason to believe in the work that we do daily to free the victims in our community from the power and control of their abusers," he added.
Hollinshead served as a U.S. Army Intelligence analyst for over 11 years after graduating from Northern Illinois University College of Law, Amato said. A GoFundMe page has been set up for Hollinshead's daughter.