A divorce settlement hearing ended in a fatal shooting outside a Mississippi courthouse Tuesday, when a victim of domestic violence allegedly shot her estranged husband.
49-year-old Tanya Saucier, a retired military veteran and nurse, had filed for divorce in December 2023, months after her husband James Saucier was indicted for allegedly shooting her in the head and chest during a domestic altercation. 62-year-old James, who was scheduled to stand trial in March 2025 for aggravated domestic violence, claimed the shooting was in self-defense.
Tanya's divorce attorney, State Rep. Jansen Owen, witnessed the volatile marriage's violent end outside the Pearl River County Courthouse Annex that day. Owen told Fox 8 he saw Tanya shoot James multiple times, then restrained her until law enforcement arrived. Owen joined courthouse staff and bystanders in attempts to save James, even using his tie and shirt as a tourniquet, but James died at the scene.
"She executed him in cold blood and almost killed other people on the scene. I saw it," Owen told SunHerald.
"I don't think there's going to be a very good self-defense argument. She chose to take the law into her own hands and kill this man. No matter what he did to her before she can't choose to end his life in her own specific time and place," said Fox 8 legal analyst Joe Raspanti, adding that Tanya's defense could argue diminished mental capacity.
"She lost her eye. She's got brain issues. She has seizures. She's on medication. She's in constant pain," Tanya's family told Fox 8, describing the lasting injury caused by the earlier shooting. "She was harassed. She's been tormented over and over and over again to where she lived in fear. Constant fear."
The incident has shaken the small town of Poplarville, where residents described Tanya as a quiet and compassionate woman who loved her family and hunting dogs. James' family, however, portrayed her as unstable, alleging mood swings and unpredictable behavior.
Tanya remains in custody without bond.
Originally published by Latin Times.
