Stories like this make me sick. If I had any bit of advice for women (or even men) in a situation where they've just had to formally end a relationship with someone predisposed to violence or irrational thinking patterns, it would be to spend the few hundred or thousands of dollars to hire a private investigator immediately following any formal "shut down" notice against them.
The most dangerous point in the process of pushing away or divorcing someone from your life when they've been harassing, threatening, or otherwise forcing their will over yours in pursuit or revenge of the failing relationship, is that moment in which they are formally confronted about their behavior and forced to change it. This includes being approached by law enforcement or facing the process of a restraining order or some other formal action. It is the hours and days immediately following that confrontation when these types of people are most dangerous and prone to react impulsively.
So my advice which I've not seen put forth anywhere in these situations, is to go the extra distance and hire a private investigator to keep a 24/7 watch over exes who are fundamentally unhinged the moment these confrontations go down. Preferably before. Most of the time, while pissed, over the period of a few days or weeks,
even maniacs will calm down enough to at least be "yellow" alerts rather than deadly "red" alerts, and a PI keeping covert surveillance during the wind-down can tip off a potential victim or in some other way avert disaster. It would cost a pretty penny and for low income folks I would hope that woman shelters and other victim advocacy groups could pool in and cover the cost. But the tactic would be effective and it could save lives.
In fact post "restraint watch" services are probably an untapped market for PIs that would be good for their business and good for preventing the kinds of incidents like the story I link to above.
