Man Kills Estranged Wife Months After She Filed For Divorce, Then Sets Home On Fire Before Shooting Himself
"Bobette [Everhard-Boal] was seriously a delightful, lovely person and it's a terrible tragedy,” one friend said after news of the 59-year-old's death began to spread around her Missouri community.
A Missouri woman in the midst of divorce proceedings was shot and killed by her estranged husband at her apartment complex, before the man took his own life at the home the couple had once shared, according to police.
Bobette Everhart-Boal, 59, was found in the parking lot of the Baxter Crossings apartments in the city of Chesterfield, a suburb of St. Louis, early Sunday morning after police were called around 12:45 a.m. amid reports of gunfire.
Chesterfield Police Lt. Christopher Connelly told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch that police believe Everhart-Boal and her estranged husband Michael C. Boal, 59, had argued in the parking lot before Boal shot his wife and fled the scene.
Just 45 minutes later, authorities received reports of a home in the neighboring city of Wildwood engulfed in flames about seven miles away from the apartment complex. Authorities realized it was the home the couple had once shared together. Investigators believe Boal set the home ablaze and then shot himself.
“It started in the garage, but then eventually we saw it spreading to the center of the house,” one shocked neighbor told local station KSDK-TV of the fire.
The official results of the autopsies are still pending, People reported.
Everhart-Boal had filed for divorce from her husband in August and had moved into the apartment complex with her adult daughter—who did not witness the deadly altercation.
The couple had been scheduled to have a divorce hearing on Thursday, the Post-Dispatch reported.
Connelly said the couple, who had married in Las Vegas in 1991, had “domestic issues.”
In her filings for divorce, Everhart-Boal said the couple had been “living separate lives” since November 2018, although they had initially remained in the same house.
Those who knew Everhart-Boal, who worked at an interior design company in Maryland Heights, described her as a positive person.
"Bobette was seriously a delightful, lovely person and it's a terrible tragedy,” friend Linda Loewenstein told KSDK-TV.
Everhart-Boal's sister-in-law Tracy Everhart described her to The Post-Dispatch as a “wonderful” sister-in-law who will be “deeply missed” by those who knew her.
“We are all still processing this,” she said.
Everhart-Boal’s employer, The Working Spaces, also offered their condolences after news of her death began to spread.
“The Working Spaces family is deeply saddened and grieving the loss of our dear friend and colleague Bobette Everhart-Boal. Bobette was loved and respected by her co-workers. She brought a positive energy and professionalism to each and every day. Like everyone else, we are still learning the facts surrounding her death and trying to process it as best we can,” general manager Tim Carroll said in a statement, according to KTVI.
The couple leaves behind two adult children, a daughter and a son. Everhart-Boal’s daughter is an intern at The Crossing church in Chesterfield.
“We are grieving with a member of our staff who has experienced a tragic loss this weekend as a result of this evil act,” the church said in a statement. “Our main priority now is caring for her and others that have been impacted.”