Mark Miscavish, who retired from the Pennsylvania state police in 2011, killed his estranged wife Traci Miscavish in a Decatur Township grocery store, according to state police and local media on Thursday morning where she worked, the Centre Daily Times and UPI.com reported. He then turned the shotgun on himself in an apparent murder-suicide.Traci Miscavish was granted a protection-from-abuse order while her husband faced charges stemming from the incident, the site said.
Decatur Township is about 130 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
Miscavush had been previously arrested on January 23 after she had left him. His wife believed he had been abusing prescription drugs, according to reports, and when she tried to take them away, he wrestled her to the ground and attempted to bind her with duct tape, Centre County District attorney Stacy Parks Miller said.
He then pulled out a gun and threatened to kill her, but a neighbor reportedly into the home and stopped to help, Parks Miller said. Miscavish was charged with simple assault, terroristic threats, and harassment, and spent a week in jail before being bailed out.
Traci Miscavish reportedly lived in fear of her estranged husband; she often told prosecutors she believed he would harm her further. She obtained a protection-from-abuse order after the incident. Last week, she filed for divorce.
Gina March, Traci's sister addressed the media outside the supermarket where the shooting occurred and was crying.
"The system failed her for not protecting her," she lamented. "The system failed him for not getting him the help he needed."
Funeral plans have yet to be announced.
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