SALEM, Ore. — Salem police said that a woman ran down her former domestic partner with her car at a local park on Saturday during an argument over their custody arrangement. She's since been charged with two counts of murder.
Around 9:15 a.m., people at Woodmansee Park in south Salem called police, reporting that a man had been struck by woman's car. Officers arrived to find that the victim was dead. Officers questioned the driver, and detectives responded to take over the investigation.
Woodmansee Park was shut down for several hours as Salem police investigated the incident.
Sunday morning, Salem police announced that detectives had arrested the driver, identified as 29-year-old Branda Myshelle Myers of Salem. She was charged with both first- and second-degree murder.
The victim was identified as 38-year-old Vince Edward Fouts, who police described as Myers' former partner. Detectives determined that Myers and Fouts had met at the park to resolve a custody dispute, but the meeting escalated into an argument.
The fight between the two former partners came to a head when Myers used her car to run Fouts over several times, Salem police said.
Neither Myers nor Fouts have a history of criminal charges in Oregon.
Myers was booked into the Marion County Jail late Saturday night. She's due to make her first court appearance on Monday afternoon.
Editor's note: An initial statement from the Salem Police Department identified the victim as Vince Douts, and indicated that he and Myers were formerly married. In later statements, the agency corrected the spelling of his name and clarified their relationship as former domestic partners.
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