GRANTSVILLE — Marilyn Schutz was planning to leave her husband and stay with a family from her local LDS ward the night she was shot and killed inside a local restaurant next door to her home.
Members of the host family, who declined to give their names, said they arrived at the Schutz home about 8 p.m., little more than five minutes after Thomas Schutz entered Jimbo's Drive Inn, 533 E. Main, with a .38-caliber pistol, shot and killed his wife, wounded cashier Joyce Fawson then went through the kitchen and killed restaurant owner Jimmie Maddox. Schutz then returned to the front of the eatery, where he took his own life.
Fawson, the only survivor, was listed in good condition Tuesday morning at Tooele Valley Regional Medical Center.
By the time the shooting was over, the family who had planned to help Marilyn Schutz and her daughter leave arrived to find police lights flashing in the restaurant's parking lot.
"When we got here, we thought there was just a robbery over there," said the father of the family.
When the family realized it was the Schutzes who lay dead in the restaurant, they were shocked.
"There were no indications that it would even escalate to this point," the man said Monday afternoon as he stood in front of the Schutz residence, 541 E. Main. Authorities had just removed the yellow police tape that surrounded the house and restaurant much of the day.
A single bouquet of flowers lay in front of the restaurant, which had been closed all day. As night settled, many living in this small town still were struggling to cope with the tragedy of the day before.
Domestic violence experts say cases like this highlight the difficulty many victims of abusive relationships face in leaving their partners. On one hand, it's not safe to stay in an abusive relationship, but leaving can often drive the abusive partner to take more serious action.
"Leaving is often the most dangerous action that people can take, so that's why we really stress planning when people know that the situation is escalating," said Utah Domestic Violence Advisory Council Administrator Judy Kasten Bell. "And all the plans in the world sometimes don't change the outcome."
In this case, the outcome came as a complete shock to residents. Neighbors who knew the couple said Thomas Schutz was known to yell at his wife. Those same neighbors, however, said they never noticed any physical abuse.
"Tom was a screamer" said Tammy Jones, who lives next door to the Schutz home. "Yesterday they were out in the front yard, and he was hollering at her."
Troy Randall, supervisor of Tooele County Human Services, said his office had been working with the Schutz family for the past couple months but this case did not follow the typical pattern of abuse.
"We couldn't find any physical abuse in the past," Randall said. "Yelling and screaming, but no punching or hitting with any objects."
The typical pattern of domestic violence begins with yelling and screaming one day, punching or hitting the next and can escalate from there, Randall said.
Domestic violence clinicians had talked with Marilyn Schutz and were left with the impression that everything was being worked out, Randall said. In fact, she had reportedly told one person this was the best relationship she had been in, he said.
"It never begins with what we saw yesterday, it always ends that way," he said.
Marilyn Schutz had no family members in the area, which neighbors say made it especially difficult for her to leave the relationship.
"I think he broke her down to where she couldn't leave him because she felt like she couldn't make it," said one neighbor who lived two doors down from the Schutzes and housed Marilyn Schutz and her daughter for three weeks earlier this year.
Despite tragic endings such as Sunday's killings, domestic violence experts also say there are steps victims can take to ensure they safely leave an abusive relationship.
First, plan ahead on how to leave. If a situation escalates, Kasten Bell suggests moving to rooms with an exit route and away from areas of the house where possible weapons are stored, like a kitchen.
Kasten Bell also suggests abuse victims ask their neighbors to call police if they hear arguing. The state also has a domestic violence hotline, 1-800-897-5465, that can offer tips on ending abusive relationships.
Contributing: Pat Reavy, Anne Jacobs.
E-MAIL: djensen@desnews.com