A woman who was shot to death in Utah while making Christmasdecorations with her boyfriend’s young children was allegedly killed by his ex-wife, according to local police officers.<\/p>\n
Lisa Vilate Williams had been in a relationship with Travis Cook, her alleged killer’s ex-husband, for six months.<\/p>\n
She was making homemade festive ornaments with Mr Cook’s three-year-old twins on 25 November, when Chelsea Cook entered the apartment and shot her in front of the children.<\/p>\n
Mr Cook took his ex-wife’s gun away and pinned her to a wall to stop her escaping until police arrived, officials said.<\/p>\n
Williams died later in hospital.<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old met Travis Cook at the bank where they both worked.<\/p>\n
The relationship resulted in months of online and in-person harassment from Chelsea Cook, according to the victim’s sister, Bekah Williams.<\/p>\n
The abuse began in June and included bullying on Instagram and in-person confrontations at the bank, as well as harassing phone calls made from the school where Cook worked as a health teacher,<\/p>\n
“I worried for her safety every day,” said Lisa’s mother, Tawny Williams.<\/p>\n
In a Facebook post, Tawny paid tribute to her late daughter.<\/p>\n
“She was magic, and I want her remembered for how she lived,” the mother wrote.<\/p>\n
“Not for how she was killed.”<\/p>\n
Court records show that Chelsea and Travis Cook’s divorce was finalised in January.<\/p>\n
The documents also reveal that Chelsea Cook was charged in October with domestic violence in the presence of a child.<\/p>\n
She pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n
Further details are not publicly available, but Bekah said that the case did not involve her sister.<\/p>\n
Bekah added that she reported Cook’s behaviour to the principal of Skyridge High School in Lehi, where the teacher worked, in August.<\/p>\n
“It seems to me that nothing was done,” she said.<\/p>\n
Ben Rasmussen, director of law and professional practices with the Utah State School Board, said that teacher behaviour outside the classroom was difficult for schools to address.<\/p>\n
The school only realised that Chelsea Cook had been arrested on suspicion of domestic violence after Williams’ death.<\/p>\n
“It took a lot longer than we would hope,” Mr Rasmussen said.<\/p>\n
Bekah said that Lisa was reluctant to report the harassment that she was living with.<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old feared the impact that involving the authorities would have on Mr Cook’s children.<\/p>\n
“In hindsight, I think the best thing for the kids would have been to call the police every time,” Bekah said.<\/p>\n\n
A woman who was shot to death in Utah while making Christmasdecorations with her boyfriend’s young children was allegedly killed by his ex-wife, according to local police officers. Lisa Vilate Williams had been in a relationship with Travis Cook, her alleged killer’s ex-husband, for six months. She was making homemade festive ornaments with Mr Cook’s three-year-old twins on …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57318,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[38],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n