Husband terrorized victim in Wis. attack
Court papers show stark history of abuse
BROOKFIELD, WIS. A Wisconsin woman whose husband is suspected of killing 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 more before turning the gun on himself Sunday.
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.
It is not clear whether Robuck and Lind worked at the spa or were customers.
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.
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, of Brown Deer, was prohibited from owning a firearm.
Police responded last year to reports of domestic violence at the Haughton home. 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, 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, but that investigators weren’t looking for anyone else.
“I can tell you we’re not seeking additional suspects,” he said at a news conference Sunday evening. “The community can feel safe.”
A .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun was used in the attack, said agent Tom Ahern, of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
A spokeswoman at Froedtert Hospital, where the injured were taken, said one of the four womenAremained in critical condition early Monday. Kathy Sieja said the three other women were in satisfactory condition.
The shootings set off a confusing, six-hour search for the gunman, forcing the lockdown of a nearby mall, a country club and the hospital.
Authorities said it would take time to sort out exactly what happened, and emphasized they were still interviewing witnesses and rescuers and didn’t have a firm timeline of events.
Brookfield Mayor Steve Ponto called the shootings “a senseless act on the part of one person.”
It was Wisconsin’s second mass shooting this year. Wade Michael Page killed six people and himself Aug. 5 at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek.