MT AIRY, Md. — A Maryland woman who shot and killed a serial domestic abuser at her Mt. Airy home Sunday had sought two court protective orders against the man before the situation escalated to gunfire.
Investigators have filed no charges against her pending further investigation, according to the Frederick County Sheriff's Department.
Investigators noted that she cooperated fully with the investigation.
The most recent protective order, which called for the man to leave the home, stay away and surrender all weapons, was still in effect, according to court records.
The shooting victim was 52-year-old Danny Ray Sidders Jr.
Sidders was a disgraced ex-police officer from Orlando Florida with a history in Florida of domestic violence, according to court records dating back to 2012.
According to the Maryland protective orders, Sidders had overpowered the woman in a confrontation in her home in 2020. The violence included grabbing and hitting, according to the application for the order.
During a 2021 confrontation in the home, the woman said she barricaded herself in her room for protection as Sidders threatened to take the door off the hinges to get to her, according to an application for a second protective order.
The woman alleged she was being stalked by Sidders.
Court records warned Sidders had prior law enforcement training, prior domestic violence convictions and was a narcissist being treated with medications and who had a support animal.
Yet despite the protective order to stay away, Sidders was at the home Sunday resulting in a “domestic altercation,” according to the Frederick County Sheriffs Department.
After Sidders was shot and killed in the home, Frederick County investigators reported that the woman “cooperated with the investigation” and sat for “hours of interviews." She was not charged.
Victims should always turn to courts and law enforcement for help, despite the shortcomings of protective orders, according to Tiffany Santana, Executive Director of the Bethany House of Northern Virginia, a shelter for victims.
"If you have filed a complaint and you have written protective order, it makes it a lot easier to prosecute when you've gone through all those steps," Santana said.
Santana calls for tougher enforcement of protective orders and says the safest solution is to get away and seek safe shelter like Bethany House of Northern Virginia.
But Santana acknowledges some victims will seek weapons.
"It's not always the ideal. But what we do know about domestic violence is that it almost always escalates," Santana said. "If a particular victim feels like they've done everything that they can through the system and they need to make sure that they have an additional layer of protection, sometimes that's an option for people."
Domestic deaths in Maryland are at their highest level in 14 years according to the Maryland Network Against Domestic violence. The Network reports 37 intimate partners and 5 bystanders were killed in Maryland during 2021.
Michael Garrett awaiting trial for murdering Sylvia Matthews. He was convicted of robbing and beating her in 1999. WUSA9 Investigates why he wasn't stopped again.