In the late summer of 2015, the life of 32-year-old Rachel Ann Lech was tragically cut short in Anderson, South Carolina. On September 22nd, while walking down the street with a friend, she was brutally attacked in a drive-by shooting. The person behind the wheel was her estranged husband, 51-year-old James Lech. He fired multiple shots, striking Rachel in the chest and also wounding her companion.
The violence did not end there. After gunning down his wife, James Lech fled the scene.
A search for him ensued, but it would come to a grim conclusion. The following morning, approximately eight hours after the shooting, investigators discovered his lifeless body. He had taken his own life.
While Rachel Ann Lech succumbed to her injuries, her friend who was with her at the time of the shooting was transported to the hospital and was expected to survive. At the time of the incident, investigators were still working to determine a clear motive for the murder-suicide, though it was clear the act was one of devastating domestic violence. The community was left to mourn the loss of Rachel, a life taken in a sudden and violent act by the man she had once been married to.
