A husband shot and killed his wife on Monday afternoon in Pell City before turning the gun on himself.

The murder-suicide took place at approximately 5:05 p.m. on the backside of the Harrison Estates apartment complex that faces 19th Street. The authorities identified the victims as Randall McCoy, 46, 540 17th Street North, Pell City, and his estranged wife, Conswella McCoy, 37, who lived at the Harrison Estates apartments.

Pell City Police Chief Greg Turley said that when medics arrived they attempted to revive the couple but it was too late. Turley also said that McCoy drug his wife out of the apartment before he shot and killed her on the sidewalk with a .32 caliber revolver. The revolver was recovered at the scene and appeared to have fired five rounds. Turley said Mrs. McCoy was shot twice in the body and once in the head. McCoy then shot himself once in the head.

Nearly two months ago in March, McCoy shot his wife twice with a .22 caliber pistol in the head and the chest before disposing of the gun in the woods near the Harrisburg community of Pell City. Mrs. McCoy was hospitalized at University Hospital in Birmingham and recovered. McCoy later turned himself into authorities at the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Jail.

McCoy spent two days in jail before a relative posted a property bond on his behalf.

McCoy was charged with domestic violence first-degree assault and was released on a $75,000 bond. According to the State of Alabama bonding guidelines a first-degree assault charge is a class B felony and bond is to be set between $5,000 and $30,000 dollars. McCoy’s bond was set at three times the recommended amount. Sources with knowledge of Mr. McCoy’s property bond said that he would have been able to make bail even if it had been set at $200,000.

According to reports McCoy and his wife Conswella McCoy were estranged since the March incident.

Other court ordered release restrictions were placed on Mr. McCoy, including; he was to have no contact with his wife and he was to surrender all firearms and to submit to drug and alcohol testing. According to the guidelines Mr. McCoy was subject to the weekly random drug and alcohol tests as well as monthly counseling sessions. Mr. McCoy was reported to be in complete compliance with the conditions of his release.

“My sympathies go out to both of the families,” McCoy’s attorney Erskine Funderburg said. “I’m sure that no one involved with this case ever saw this tragedy coming. Mr. McCoy had been complying with all the provisions of his release. He was tested routinely and exhibited no signs of this occurrence. He and Conswella seemed to be working toward reconciliation at the time of this heartbreak.”

McCoy was scheduled to appear in court in April before the preliminary hearing was waived and the case was sent to grand jury.

Turley said that Mrs. McCoy had contacted the St. Clair County District Attorney to ask that the charges be dropped against her estranged husband. “It’s not unusual that she asked for the charges to be dropped,” Turley said, referencing domestic violence patterns.

District Attorney Richard Minor confirmed that Mrs. McCoy had requested that his office dismiss the charges against her husband. “This is not something we would do, we have to stand up for people even the ones who will not stand up for themselves,” Minor said.

A search of Mr. McCoy’s residence Monday revealed a four-page letter detailing his intentions to murder his wife and himself. In the letter Mr. McCoy blames his wife for all their problems and indicated that she had broken him financially. In the letter he implied that one of the reasons for murdering his wife was that since he could not be with her on earth, they would be together in heaven.

“This is classic victim’s behavior, we see it all the time” said Carrie Turner Leland, an authority on domestic violence. “The victim often recants or seeks to mitigate the severity of the crime after the fact. This is usually a part of the so-called honeymoon period in which the abuser shows remorse and begs for reconciliation with the victim,” said Leland.

After the shooting the apartment complex was filled with family, friends and onlookers who came to the scene and bordered the yellow police tape. Chaplains who were comforting those on the scene utilized the apartment complex office as a place of privacy. The couple leaves behind two children.

“It’s a very sad day in Pell City,” Turley said.