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Prosecutor laments loss of sister-in-law and questions what could have prevented her killing Date published: 10/8/2009
By PAMELA GOULD Fingers are being pointed in King George County over a murder-suicide that ended the lives of a well-known couple in Fairview Beach. Jerry Puckett blamed the King George County Sheriff's Office and prosecutor's office in a suicide note he wrote before killing his ex-lover and then himself Saturday night. Then yesterday, Jennifer Pollard, the woman's sister-in-law and the county's assistant prosecutor, pointed the finger at a magistrate. Both claim public officials didn't do enough to address the complaints being lobbed between Puckett and Rita Lund, and suggest the tragedy could have been avoided. What isn't in doubt is that Saturday evening, shortly after 8:15 p.m., Puckett, 70, left his home on Dauphin Landing in Fairview Beach, drove five blocks and then stormed into the house of 59-year-old Lund, his former live-in girlfriend. Puckett then shot Lund twice--once in the chest with a shotgun and once in the head with a 9mm handgun, the second shot causing her death. Then, with Lund's sister, Donna Knight, cowering in a closet and calling authorities for help, Puckett set the 1920s bungalow-style home on fire. He then turned the handgun on himself and fired, 1st Sgt. Chris Giles said. Knight survived because deputies didn't give up until they were able to pull her from the smoke-filled house, Giles said. They first could not find Knight but then told her to follow the beam of a flashlight until they could locate her, Giles said. Giles said the sheriff told him not to provide further details until the investigation is completed, hopefully by week's end. Earlier this week, Det. Sgt. Monty Clift said he hoped to be able to pin down the motive for the crime before the case is closed. "We're trying to complete the puzzle to understand why it happened," he said. CASES PENDING When Puckett took matters into his own hands last weekend, he had dates to meet both Knight and Lund in court, King George County court records show. The allegations started at the end of August, about the time Lund was moving out of Puckett's house.
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