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Woman receives husband's parole notice three days late
PEORIA, Ill. (AP) -- A Peoria woman received a letter about her estranged husband's impending release from prison three days after she fatally shot him when he allegedly broke into her home and beat her.
"I feel like this all could've been avoided," said Charlotte Gates, who has not been charged in Friday's shooting of Christopher Lee Winder.
State officials called the incident unfortunate, but said there was no failure of the state's victim notification system.
Gates never signed up to be notified through the system, which lets victims know when their abusers will be released from prison, said Sergio Molina, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Corrections.
"It's unfortunate, but if someone is not signed up it's difficult for us or anyone else to notify them," Molina said.
Peoria police and the Peoria County sheriff's department and state's attorney's office were notified that Winder would be released March 6 after serving five months for domestic battery and aggravated battery, authorities said.
However, Gates was not notified because Winder was sent to prison for beating another woman -- not Gates.
The letter Gates finally received Monday came from the Winnebago County state's attorney's office, which sent her the notice because Gates had filed an order of protection against Winder while the couple was living in Winnebago County.
That notice took seven days to reach Gates because it was sent to an old address and then forwarded to her current one, authorities said.
Gates, 29, said she shot her 27-year-old estranged husband after he kicked in her door Friday and began punching her.
After a long struggle, she said she broke away, grabbed a handgun and fired once. Winder ran out of the house and was found later in a neighbor's back yard, dead of single gunshot wound to the chest.
Police said last week that the shooting appeared to be justified. Gates said she bought the gun on the street and it was not registered.
No charges had been filed Tuesday, according to a spokesman for the Peoria County state's attorney's office.
PEORIA, Ill. (AP) -- A Peoria woman received a letter about her estranged husband's impending release from prison three days after she fatally shot him when he allegedly broke into her home and beat her.
"I feel like this all could've been avoided," said Charlotte Gates, who has not been charged in Friday's shooting of Christopher Lee Winder.
State officials called the incident unfortunate, but said there was no failure of the state's victim notification system.
Gates never signed up to be notified through the system, which lets victims know when their abusers will be released from prison, said Sergio Molina, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Corrections.
"It's unfortunate, but if someone is not signed up it's difficult for us or anyone else to notify them," Molina said.
Peoria police and the Peoria County sheriff's department and state's attorney's office were notified that Winder would be released March 6 after serving five months for domestic battery and aggravated battery, authorities said.
However, Gates was not notified because Winder was sent to prison for beating another woman -- not Gates.
The letter Gates finally received Monday came from the Winnebago County state's attorney's office, which sent her the notice because Gates had filed an order of protection against Winder while the couple was living in Winnebago County.
That notice took seven days to reach Gates because it was sent to an old address and then forwarded to her current one, authorities said.
Gates, 29, said she shot her 27-year-old estranged husband after he kicked in her door Friday and began punching her.
After a long struggle, she said she broke away, grabbed a handgun and fired once. Winder ran out of the house and was found later in a neighbor's back yard, dead of single gunshot wound to the chest.
Police said last week that the shooting appeared to be justified. Gates said she bought the gun on the street and it was not registered.
No charges had been filed Tuesday, according to a spokesman for the Peoria County state's attorney's office.
