BATESVILLE, Miss. — Court documents reveal the woman who was shot by her husband outside the Batesville Police Department Tuesday morning had recently filed for divorce.
Tabitha Sanford Webb is still in critical condition at Regional Medical Center in Memphis after family said her husband shot her before killing himself. Police identified the husband as L. C. Webb Jr. A family friend told WREG that the couple’s 1-year-old son was present during the shooting.
WREG has learned the couple had been married for almost four years, but that Sanford Webb filed for divorce on February 1 citing “habitual, cruel and inhuman treatment.”
That same day, she obtained a two-week temporary order of protection against her husband. The order claims that he had thrown a glass at her.
Current and former neighbors of the couple said they never saw any signs of trouble. “Him and the kids been cleaning the yard, and he’d be cooking on that grill over there,” said Angela Jaudon.
“I really never knew that anything like this could possibly take place, you know, ‘cause they was a loving couple. You know what I’m saying? They was inseparable,” said Calandra Flowers.
The divorce petition says the couple separated in December 2018. Webb Jr, who neighbors said was a truck driver, moved to another home several miles away.
“Back then in December I had seen the police over there, but he wasn’t, but his vehicles were, and I figured something bad must have happened that day,” said Jaudon. Jaudon said she only learned about the couple’s separation on Sunday when she spoke to Sanford Webb.
In the divorce petition, Sanford Webb asks for sole custody of the couple’s child with supervised visits for her husband. A family member suggested Tuesday’s shooting could have stemmed from a custody dispute.
