Wisconsin man bought gun 1 day before spa shooting
MILWAUKEE (AP) - A Wisconsin woman whose husband killed her and two others at the spa where she worked said he threatened to throw acid in her face and jealously terrorized her "every waking moment," according to court documents.
Authorities say Radcliffe Franklin Haughton, 45, killed three women, including his 42-year-old wife, Zina Haughton, and wounded four others Sunday before turning the gun on himself.
The Waukesha County medical examiner's office on Monday identified the dead as Zina Haughton; Cary L. Robuck, 35, of Racine; and Maelyn M. Lind, 38, of Oconomowoc. All were found in the spa.
In a written request for a restraining order filed Oct. 8, Zina Haughton said her husband was convinced she was cheating on him and that aside from the acid threat he also vowed to burn her and her family with gas. He said he would kill her if she ever left him or called the police, according to the court papers obtained Monday by The Associated Press.
"His threats terrorize my every waking moment," she wrote.
In a separate police report, she said the couple was in the process of getting a divorce and "we are always arguing."
Haughton was arrested earlier this month for slashing his wife's tires; she was granted a four-year restraining order on Thursday.
Under the order, Haughton was prohibited from owning a firearm. But police said Monday that Haughton bought the .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun used in the deadly shooting two days later.
Police responded last year to reports of domestic violence at the Haughtons' home in Brown Deer. Zina Haughton called 911 saying her enraged husband had thrown her clothes and bedding into the yard and doused her vehicle with tomato juice. Radcliffe Haughton was charged with disorderly conduct following the 90-minute standoff with police, but the charge was later dismissed because a witness failed to appear in court.
Brookfield Police Chief Dan Tushaus said he wasn't aware of a motive in Sunday's shooting.
A spokeswoman at Froedtert Hospital, where the injured were taken, said one of the four women was released Monday afternoon. Kathy Sieja said the three other women were in satisfactory condition.
Ernest J. Polk, a neighbor who lives across the street from the Haughtons, said the couple was generally friendly to him but he saw signs of turmoil.
"There was always confrontation over there, but I never thought it would come to this," he said. "... It was mostly verbal. I didn't see anything physical."
Customers described Zina Haughton was a popular hair stylist who decorated her work station with photos of her two daughters.
"She was a wonderful mom," Kristin Guadagno told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "She had two daughters who were the foundation of her family. She was their everything. She worked so many hours every week to provide for them and take them on nice trips."
The shootings that happened about 11 a.m. Sunday triggered chaos in the commercial area around the spa. Believing Haughton had fled, police began a massive, six-hour search that locked down a nearby mall, country club and hospital.
Tushaus said later that a fire in the spa, discovery of a propane tank initially believed to be an improvised explosive device and the layout of the building, with many small rooms and locked areas, all slowed officers' search and delayed the discovery of the gunman's body.
It was the second mass shooting in Wisconsin this year. Wade Michael Page, a 40-year-old Army veteran and white supremacist, killed six people and injured three others before fatally shooting himself Aug. 5 at a Sikh temple south of Milwaukee.
Sunday's shooting took place less than a mile from where seven people were killed and four wounded on March 12, 2005, when a gunman opened fire at a Living Church of God service held at a hotel.
Authorities say Radcliffe Franklin Haughton, 45, killed three women, including his 42-year-old wife, Zina Haughton, and wounded four others Sunday before turning the gun on himself.
The Waukesha County medical examiner's office on Monday identified the dead as Zina Haughton; Cary L. Robuck, 35, of Racine; and Maelyn M. Lind, 38, of Oconomowoc. All were found in the spa.
In a written request for a restraining order filed Oct. 8, Zina Haughton said her husband was convinced she was cheating on him and that aside from the acid threat he also vowed to burn her and her family with gas. He said he would kill her if she ever left him or called the police, according to the court papers obtained Monday by The Associated Press.
"His threats terrorize my every waking moment," she wrote.
In a separate police report, she said the couple was in the process of getting a divorce and "we are always arguing."
Haughton was arrested earlier this month for slashing his wife's tires; she was granted a four-year restraining order on Thursday.
Under the order, Haughton was prohibited from owning a firearm. But police said Monday that Haughton bought the .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun used in the deadly shooting two days later.
Police responded last year to reports of domestic violence at the Haughtons' home in Brown Deer. Zina Haughton called 911 saying her enraged husband had thrown her clothes and bedding into the yard and doused her vehicle with tomato juice. Radcliffe Haughton was charged with disorderly conduct following the 90-minute standoff with police, but the charge was later dismissed because a witness failed to appear in court.
Brookfield Police Chief Dan Tushaus said he wasn't aware of a motive in Sunday's shooting.
A spokeswoman at Froedtert Hospital, where the injured were taken, said one of the four women was released Monday afternoon. Kathy Sieja said the three other women were in satisfactory condition.
Ernest J. Polk, a neighbor who lives across the street from the Haughtons, said the couple was generally friendly to him but he saw signs of turmoil.
"There was always confrontation over there, but I never thought it would come to this," he said. "... It was mostly verbal. I didn't see anything physical."
Customers described Zina Haughton was a popular hair stylist who decorated her work station with photos of her two daughters.
"She was a wonderful mom," Kristin Guadagno told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "She had two daughters who were the foundation of her family. She was their everything. She worked so many hours every week to provide for them and take them on nice trips."
The shootings that happened about 11 a.m. Sunday triggered chaos in the commercial area around the spa. Believing Haughton had fled, police began a massive, six-hour search that locked down a nearby mall, country club and hospital.
Tushaus said later that a fire in the spa, discovery of a propane tank initially believed to be an improvised explosive device and the layout of the building, with many small rooms and locked areas, all slowed officers' search and delayed the discovery of the gunman's body.
It was the second mass shooting in Wisconsin this year. Wade Michael Page, a 40-year-old Army veteran and white supremacist, killed six people and injured three others before fatally shooting himself Aug. 5 at a Sikh temple south of Milwaukee.
Sunday's shooting took place less than a mile from where seven people were killed and four wounded on March 12, 2005, when a gunman opened fire at a Living Church of God service held at a hotel.
The reality is the gun laws work the piece stays he was restricted from owning a firearm or purchasing one which would have come up in a background check which without a concealed weapons permit requires a 6 day waiting period.  He had to have bought it illegally.  If you are convicted of domestic violence either a misdemeor or felony  in most states you lose your gun rights.  So get your rights straight more gun control is not the answer better enforcement of restraining orders isÂ
Good Lord, how did they ever end up married?
We see how well gun control works here in this story. You can't stop crazy people from doing crazy things by passing laws. You can only do what it takes to defend yourself when the time comes. In order to buy a gun from a vendor he would have had to pass a NICS check which the restraining order would have prevented. Either he bought private party or bought a stolen gun. Either way more laws would not have stopped this man from what he did. The only thing that might have would have been someone armed in that building that day, or if the police happened to be there already. My condolences to those affected by this tragedy, and RIP to the poor people killed.
It's a shame it takes the further, senseless loss of life to finally give us our "DOH!" moments by exposing the glaring flaws that remain in terms of background checking, and coordination and availability of information from law enforcement, to the gun vendors.
 @Throbbinhood with 300m guns out there, no chance...
 @Komo Dragon  @Throbbinhood so.. do nothing? anarchy is NOT the answer..
I don't want to second guess authorities, but with my limited experience, I would say they could have seen this coming. Plenty of indicators ahead of time.
Where did he buy the gun? That piece  would be a nice addition to the story.
 @Surveyor1 It's time to apply the same penalty to the provider of the weapon as the murderer gets... simple black & white solution.
 @tufa23  @Surveyor1 Uh, no. Thats ridiculous. He wasn't restricted from getting a gun, except by the restraining order which had just went into effect. The NICS check probably came back positive because it hadn't been long enough to get into the system.
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The person selling him the gun had no idea he was insane, and even if the person didn't sell him the gun, he would have found another way to kill his wife.
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Clearly he was psychotic and was going to kill his wife in any way he could.
 @tufa23 So if I buy your used car, drive drunk and kill a pedestrian with it, you will be happy to sit in the cell next to me?