Violence can have lasting influence

Add to Monday's tragic shooting of a Salt Lake area woman by her estranged husband: Their 8-year-old daughter was watching.

And that, experts say, can compound the tragedy.

"When children witness domestic violence, the effect can last for generations," Salt Lake YWCA CEO Anne Burkholder said.

Children who witness domestic violence are "much more likely" to be offenders or victims themselves when they grow up, Burkholder said.

The girl was in the car when Carrie McClure, 42, was allegedly forced off the road by her husband, Garth McClure, 46, near 2100 East Murray-Holladay Road (4800 South) about 6:30 p.m. Monday.

Garth McClure got out of his car and fired three shots through the window of his wife's vehicle, according to the sheriff's office.

After shooting his wife, Garth McClure killed himself. Carrie McClure's condition was up-graded from critical to serious at a local hospital Tuesday.

The daughter, who was in the vehicle, was not injured.

"She was very shaken," said Ruth Sisneros, who lives nearby. The girl told Sisneros that she had been with her mother at her grandmother's house for dinner.

"She said they had a really fun time," Sisneros said. "And then she pointed (to her father's body) and said, 'That was my dad.' "

Burkholder said Monday's night incident is "a tragic example of how lethal domestic violence situations can become."

The shooting wasn't the first domestic violence incident involving the couple. Last Friday, McClure was charged in 3rd District Court with raping his wife, a first-degree felony; forcible sex abuse, a second-degree felony; and two counts of simple assault, both class A misdemeanors.

The alleged incident occurred at the McClures' house May 25. In that incident, their 10-year-old son called 911, saying his mother was yelling for help, Salt Lake County Sheriff's Sgt. Paul Jaroscak said.

Investigators booked McClure into jail and strongly encouraged the judge to keep a large bail on McClure because of the severity of the crime and his past criminal history, Jaroscak said.

Bail was set at $23,515, and McClure was released on bail the next day, according to court records. The officials in the sheriff's office said Tuesday they had hoped for a much larger bail.