A 59-year-old Marco Island woman is being held in a maximum security psychiatric hospital after Maryland authorities say she shot and killed her ex-husband and then attempted to run away when her 16-year-old daughter called police.
Despite his gunshot wounds, Baltimore County police say Ronald Gene Koontz, 66, caught up to his ex-wife, Mary Kay Koontz, and held her on the ground until officers arrived. Ronald Gene Koontz died Friday afternoon.
Mary Koontz, who lives at 591 Seaview Court, No. 111, in the gated South Seas Club on Marco Island, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. If convicted, she could face up to life in prison.
Around 6:15 a.m. on Friday, Baltimore County police say Mary Koontz opened fire on her ex-husband with a handgun, shooting him multiple times in the upper body. Baltimore County police spokesman Bill Toohey said Ronald Koontz’s home is in a “comfortable residential community.”
“The daughter ran to a closet and called 911,” Toohey said. “Mrs. Koontz then ran from the home. Mr. Koontz, even though he had been shot, chased after her.”
When officers arrived, Ronald Koontz was on top of his ex-wife holding her so she could not run, Toohey said.
“We really don’t have a motive,” Toohey said.
Ronald Koontz was transported to a University of Maryland trauma center where he died of his gunshot wounds Friday afternoon. The couple’s 16-year-old daughter, whose name has not been released, was not injured in the shooting, and is being cared for by Maryland social services, Toohey said.
Mary Koontz was taken to a Maryland hospital for a psychological evaluation because her behavior indicated a severe emotional problem, Toohey said. On Monday she was transferred to Maryland’s maximum security forensic psychiatric hospital, which takes patients who have been accused of felonies and whose competency to stand trial is in question.
The Northeast Booster, a publication of the Baltimore Sun, reported that Ronald Koontz, an employee of Baltimore County Public Schools since 1966, had gone to a Circuit Court in Baltimore County seeking an emergency psychological evaluation for his wife in 2007 and the request was granted.
No one answered the door to Mary Koontz’s condo in the South Seas North building on Monday afternoon. Few neighbors are residing in the building over the summer.
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Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 3
OldMarcoMan writes:
Bet this makes at least one guy nervous, eh Doc?
JHM420 writes:
Two if you count the guy that left the woman that used to work at the YMCA! I think both those guys are in danger of similar fates.
C'mon everyone, who else can we add to the list of people that wised up and left their insane spouses? Even though I'm a woman the only first (living) examples I can think of are the two men already mentioned. There are many more "at risk" ex-spouses (both male and female) out there besides these 3 men (Mr. Koontz, the good Dr. and the ex of the ex-YMCA lady). Ronald (God rest his soul) obviously had plenty of reason to leave his ex, too bad he couldn't get far enough away! Bet she told everyone she knew stories of how "wronged" she felt by her ex, what she was going to do if she was given the chance. Same bet says that everyone dismissed her talk as just being talk, nothing that would ACTUALLY be taken to action. The people that commit these senseless acts of violence when their spouse finally decided to detach usually start with passive-aggressive behavior and progress to worse things from there. If you know of someone in a bad relationship that is exhibiting passive-aggressive behavior towards their spouse/ex you need to do something about it! Otherwise you are part of the problem too! Tell the authorities and at the very least get an incident statement done so they can decide to intervene if they see it as necessary!
What I want to know is what happened with the psychological evaluation back in 2007? Who dropped the ball on this, allowing this poor man to be senselessly murdered?
Which leads me to wonder what our city's police department is doing to keep these other spouses safe?
JHM/Marco resident since 1993.
marco writes:
Wayne Waldack said he was shocked to learn the news. Waldack said Mary Kay was very religious."I like religious women Waldack said they never kiss and tell, a true member of the Marco Council of Catholic Women group. Wayne spent hours with her in the last several weeks going out dancing, praticed shooting at the indoor range here on Marco & having dinner together on the Island and never once did he feel she was packing heat. Wayne said "next time he's only dating women from the Polo".
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