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Divorce documents reveal custody battle before deaths

Posted at 7:31 PM, Apr 20, 2012
and last updated 2012-04-21 10:05:54-04

Travis and Carla Williams' wedding photograph shows a happy couple with their whole lives ahead of them, but their divorce documents paint a different picture filled with alleged abuse and a custody battle.

Records reveal that during a Tuesday morning hearing, the couple had come to some verbal agreement about their divorce.  The next morning, police found Carla, her one-year-old daughter Tori and 76-year-old grandmother Katie Frye dead.  Travis died after a gun fight with police on the roof of their home.

Clues to the catastrophe may be in the details of the Williams' divorce documents.

When Carla filed for divorce in January, she claimed Travis assaulted her in the couple's bathroom.  A judge convicted him on those charges.

Documents say Carla wanted sole custody of their baby girl and said "the mental issue existing with Travis is a huge concern when it comes to Tori's safety and well being".  She also requested that if Travis was granted visitation, it be surpervised because she was "unsure of his mental condition".

Carla also said that after a judge granted a two year protective order banning Travis from assaulting her or Tori in January, Travis "made no requests to see their daughter".  Carla also requested "$1,000 a month in spousal support until Tori turned 18".

In Travis's response to Carla's divorce filing, he said that he never hit her.  He also asked for sole custody of their daughter and spousal support.  Travis also asked the judge to stop Carla from "threatening, harassing, harming or abusing" him.

Authorities are awaiting blood test results to determine exactly what killed the family.