it's a surreal murder

Last January one of my sister's closest friends was brutally murdered by her husband.

Thats the simple and clean way to explain it. The fuller version is this:

My big sister (Big Sis) had a dear friend (DF) who lived in the same fancy apartment complex and they had kids the same age who also were close friends. DF and Big Sis spent time together almost every day -- going for walks and often cooking dinner together.

By the end of last year things had taken an ugly turn for DF at home. DF left her husband and stayed for a short while at the Battered Women's Shelter before fleeing the state with her 3 children in January.

But DF came back to town and arranged to meet her husband at a public restaurant to discuss matters. When their meeting ended he followed her from the restaurant to a nearby bank. As she pulled out of her parking spot to leave he broke out her window, reached in, and shot her 14 (thats right 14!) times.

This story makes me want to vomit. But most of the time I still can't believe it really happened. Or the horror that has followed - first custody issues for DF's 3 sons and now the coming trial. My Big Sis having recurring nightmares of DF screaming in her coffin. And more recently, Big Sis being shown bloody crime scene photos of DF as she gets prepped for the witness stand.

I'm sure that this is real beyond bearing for Big Sis. But I still have a hard time believing that this all really happened. That these things happen, or still happen, to people you and I know and not just to others somewhere else.