Woman shoots, kills abusive ex-boyfriend during break-in at her Jacksonville apartment

A woman who was previously abused by her ex-boyfriend shot him dead when he broke into her apartment through the window.

According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Michael Turner was shot multiple times and killed after breaking in through a window of a woman’s apartment.

"She was protecting herself because she feared for her life," Action News Jax crime and safety expert Ken Jefferson said.

Jefferson said the woman was abiding by the stand-your-ground law.

"She met force with force because he wasn't coming in to say hello or work things out. Otherwise, he wouldn't have broken in," Jefferson said.

The woman was questioned by police, but then was released.

"More than likely, she will not be facing any charges because she was in her home, he broke in, she was afraid and she was protecting herself," Jefferson said.

Action News Jax dug through Turner’s past criminal history and found he was arrested after strangling the same woman, knocking her unconscious and beating her about a year ago.

And that’s when she got a gun.

"She obviously feared for her safety by purchasing a weapon, thinking that this could happen," Jefferson said.

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, domestic violence accounts for 15 percent of all violent crimes and 19 percent of the time a weapon is involved.

"Statistics show that the offender is going to show back up. The offender is not willing to let go and these are things you don't think about," Jefferson said.

The woman dropped the original charges against her ex-boyfriend and we couldn’t find any injunctions that were filed.

Cox Media Group