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.
Puckett filed a criminal complaint claiming Knight, 57, assaulted him inside his house when Lund came there on Aug. 25. He claimed Knight pushed the door of his home open, sending him into a table, and then hit him with both of her hands.
The case was scheduled to be heard Nov. 4 by an outside judge. King George judges recused themselves because Pollard's son was to be called as a witness, records show. The prosecutor's office recused itself because Pollard works there. Westmoreland County officials had been asked to handle any prosecution.
Puckett filed his complaint Sept. 2, one day after Lund sought a protective order against him. Lund claimed she was then living with Puckett and asked that he be barred from contact with herself and Knight, as well as from Pollard, her husband and their two children.
David Pollard, Lund and Knight are siblings.
The Pollards have a home in Fairview Beach. Knight had been living in a home on Sixth Street owned by Lund, the home Puckett torched.
Lund claimed that on Aug. 26, Puckett locked her out of the home they had shared and that she needed a sheriff's deputy to help her retrieve her belongings, according to the affidavit submitted in seeking the protective order. Lund also claimed Puckett was aggressive, left threatening messages on the phone, threatened her family, vandalized her car, accused her of theft, and "said he will make me sorry if I don't do the things he wants," the affidavit states.
A judge barred Puckett from contact with Lund and from making calls, sending letters or e-mails, or sending messages through a third party. He also was to stay more than 100 yards from her home, work and car.
Lund moved in with Knight after leaving Puckett's house.
Puckett was served Sept. 2, according to Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court records. In response, Puckett put on his witness list Lund's husband, a sheriff's deputy, and two neighbors, according to court records.
A hearing on that case was scheduled for Oct. 16.
But on Sept. 12, Lund filed a 12-page complaint alleging Puckett had repeatedly violated the protective order.
Puckett was arrested that day, charged with a misdemeanor of violating the protective order and released. He was scheduled for trial on that charge Nov. 9.
LOSS OF FAMILY, FRIEND
For about 16 years, Lund lived with Puckett in Fair-view Beach and had worked for his company as a secretary.
Puckett and his son owned Puckett Brothers Construction, which operated out of his home.
Shortly after Lund moved out, Puckett, who had terminal cancer, contacted the sheriff's office claiming Lund had taken company funds, deputies said. State police are investigating because of Pollard's position in King George.
Pollard turned down requests for an interview, said Knight didn't want to talk, and declined to comment on Puckett's allegations except to say they weren't "even worthy of a response."
But Pollard sent a letter to The Free Lance-Star that she wanted published. In it, she called Puckett's accusations the "rantings of a man who had lost his grip on reality."
She called her sister-in-law a "wonderful, honest, trustworthy, intelligent, generous and loving person," and said Lund and Puckett had together built a successful business. But she claimed Puckett had become "a very different person" in the last months.
As a result, Lund took many steps to protect herself such as installing special locks on the doors of her home and seeking help through the legal system, the letter states.
Sheriff's 1st Sgt. Giles said deputies had gotten about a dozen calls from Lund and Puckett since September, reporting destruction of property and suspicious persons around their residences, but no arrests were made.
Pollard wrote that Lund sought help from a magistrate as recently as Sept. 29, reporting additional problems with Puckett but "to no avail."
Chief Magistrate Phillip Hemming said he had no details and could not comment.
Pollard is thankful for deputies' bravery Saturday night but wishes Puckett hadn't been free.
"What if the magistrate had also done his job when Rita told him about Puckett's continued violations? Would she still be alive?" Pollard wrote.
"I don't know, but right now, I would give anything to have my sister-in-law and friend back."
Pamela Gould: 540/735-1972
Email: pgould@freelancestar.com