Salon suspect's ex-wife claimed abuse

SEAL BEACH, Calif. -- The ex-wife of the man suspected of killing eight people in a shooting rampage at a hair salon claimed in court papers filed this year that he was mentally unstable and had threatened to kill himself or someone else at least once.

Michelle Fournier Dekraai made the allegations in May in a filing related to her long-running, bitter custody battle over their 7-year-old son.

Minutes after the shooting Wednesday, police stopped 41-year-old Scott Dekraai a half-mile from the scene and arrested him without incident.

Ron Sesler, owner of the next-door steakhouse Patty's Place, said the witnesses who came to his restaurant believed that Michelle Fournier was the second person shot.

The witnesses said Dekraai first shot the salon owner, Randy Fannin once in the head, then turned to his ex-wife, shooting her three times. Fannin's wife, Sandy, escaped only because she was in the back, possibly mixing hair dye, Sesler said.

Six women and two men were killed and a seventh woman was left in critical condition.

Sharyn White, a step-aunt of Scott Dekraai and a friend of Michelle's, said Michelle previously told her that Scott had walked into the salon and threatened to kill Fournier and others. White said that, according to Michelle, her colleagues and the customers in the salon laughed off the threat.

On Tuesday, Dekraii had been in court for a hearing related to the custody dispute.

The couple divorced in 2007, and Scott Dekraai remarried, but the battle over their son continued. Michelle Fournier Dekraai wrote in court papers that her ex-husband was "almost manic when it comes to demanding absolute right to control our son and make unilateral decisions."

Michelle Dekraai wrote in the court filing that her ex-husband had been physically abusive to her during their marriage, and that in 2008 he beat his stepfather, pleaded guilty to assault and battery and underwent a year of anger management. She wrote that he "is a diagnosed bipolar individual who has problems with his own medication and his reaction to same."