DECATUR, Pa., March 28 (UPI) -- A retired Pennsylvania state trooper shot and killed his estranged wife and then took his own life at a supermarket Thursday morning, police said.
The murder-suicide came less than a week after Traci Miscavish, 47, filed for divorce from her husband, Mark, the Centre Daily Times reported. The couple had been living apart for some time, and Traci obtained a protection order from her husband in January.
Traci Miscavish worked in the County Market near Philipsburg in central Pennsylvania, her sister, Gina March said.
Speaking to reporters outside the market, a weeping March said authorities failed both her sister and her husband after he was arrested in January for assaulting his wife. She said tearfully Miscavish was "not in his right mind."
"This man needed help," she said. "The system failed her for not protecting her. The system failed him for not getting him the help he needed."
She added, "I don't believe he was at fault; I believe he needed help."
Court records show the couple got into a violent argument in January when Traci, who was living with her mother, stopped by their home to pick up some of her belongings. She told police he threatened to kill both of them, saying he did not want anyone else to have her, and tried to force her into the bedroom for sex.
Miscavish was scheduled to appear in court in May.
State police said Miscavish retired in 2011 after almost 15 years as a trooper.
