Husband Accused of Killing Wife in Front of Home as Kids Called 911: ‘I Can’t Live Without Her’

An Indianapolis man is accused of killing his wife in a shooting witnessed by the couple’s four children.

Cecil Mains, 47, has been charged with murder in connection with the death of his 44-year-old wife, Jerri Mains.

Officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department responded to a report of a person shot in the 8100 block of Meadow Bend Lane on Sunday, Dec. 28, shortly before 2:30 p.m., according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the publication.

Dispatchers received multiple calls from the couple’s children during the incident, the affidavit says.

The couple’s 19-year-old son allegedly told a dispatcher, “My dad just shot my mom twice … He shot her in the house and in the driveway.”

Another child could reportedly be heard saying, “My dad is shooting my mom,” “I’m hiding,” “Please help me,” “My mom had a restraining order against him” and “I can’t live without her,” according to the affidavit.

When officers arrived, they found Jerri in the driveway outside the home, the affidavit states. She had been shot twice in the chest. She was taken to a hospital in critical condition and later pronounced dead.

Authorities say Mains fled the scene in a gray Toyota Tundra pickup truck but was located driving nearby. Police conducted a traffic stop and took him into custody without incident, according to the affidavit.

According to the Indy Star, Jerri filed a protective order against her husband on Christmas Day — three days before she was killed.

The filing alleged Mains threatened to kill both her and himself while they were in a Justice Center parking lot on Dec. 23 because she planned to file for divorce.

In the same filing, she alleged that on Christmas Eve he caused bruising and lacerations on her arm after throwing kitchen tongs at her, per the Indy Star. The outlet also reported, citing the filing, that he later threatened to kill himself in front of her and their children. He also allegedly punched her in the face in November.

According to a GoFundMe page, the couple’s children are 19, 17, 14 and 10 years old and are “now facing an unimaginable future without their mom.”

“These kids have already endured more than any child should,” the fundraiser reads. “Our hope is that they can focus on healing, staying together, and rebuilding their lives with stability and support.”