Ray Felix: Florida man kills estranged wife before turning gun on himself after keeping her and children hostage for hours
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Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.
ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA: A horrifying incident unfolded as Jamie Rae Felix, 45, a mother of two, was fatally shot in a hotel parking lot while her children witnessed the tragic event over the weekend in Florida.
The perpetrator, identified as her husband, Ray Felix, 60, carried out the shooting in front of the Quality Inn near Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, as stated by the Port St Lucie Police Department.
What happened to Jamie Rae Felix?
On Friday, March 29 afternoon, Jamie Felix and her two sons were leaving a "fun place" as per the police, Law&Crime reported.
While they were walking to their Chevrolet SUV around 4 pm, Ray Felix, wearing a disguise and holding a gun, rushed Jamie and their two children, aged 10 and 17, into a rented Nissan car.
Ray made Jamie send a suspicious email to her colleagues at Manatee Academy. The email worried Jamie's fellow teachers, who told the police about it, said Master Sgt Dominick Mesiti.
Jamie was a teacher at Manatee Academy K-8 in Port St Lucie County.
The four argued about their ongoing divorce while driving around. Later, they returned to where their car was parked.
There, Ray held Jamie at gunpoint and made the older boy drive the rented car to follow their SUV where Jamie and the younger son were kept.
They drove around for hours and eventually ended up in West Palm Beach.
Sometime after 7 pm, both cars went back toward Port St Lucie but stopped at a motel in West Palm Beach, Mike Jachles, a spokesperson for the West Palm Beach Police, said during a press conference the next day.
In the parking lot, the adults got out of the SUV. It's unclear what happened next, but Jamie died shortly after. She was shot several times and left to die on the ground around 7:20 pm.
Ray got back in the rented car and drove away. The police arrived just after 7:30 pm and found the two boys with their mother on the ground.
Paramedics tried to save Jamie, but she was declared dead at the scene. Her sons weren't physically hurt, the police added.
Following her death, Jamie's friend Monica Jackman said, "Jamie Felix is a beautiful soul who will live forever in the hearts of those who love her."
She added, "She loved her children to depths that words can’t express, she was incredibly brave and resilient, she had the most amazingly contagious laugh. She was compassionate, she was loyal and dedicated, she was a girl’s girl who lifted up her friends at every opportunity."
Ray Felix shot himself in the head after killing his estranged wife Jamie Felix
Police reported that Ray Felix initially considered returning the rental car to the agency but was later discovered nearby by law enforcement officers.
He was approached by several officers and subsequently shot himself in the head.
Jachles addressed the gathered local media and said, "No officers fired any shots or anything, he appeared intent on one thing and that's taking his life."
Ray Felix died around 10:30 pm at a nearby hospital.
Court records, obtained by the Palm Beach Post, revealed that Ray had previously been charged with battery following a domestic violence incident at the family's residence on Northwest Rose Petal Court in Port St Lucie in October 2023.
The family court judge overseeing their divorce proceedings had prohibited Ray from contacting his wife and one of their children.
He had previously held a position as a dean's clerk at Manatee Academy and had been recognized twice as the school's employee of the year, according to posts on Facebook.
