A startling and sad discovery tonight as the history of domestic violence between the couple unfolds.
Contact 13 found the wife had applied to the court for a protective order just three weeks before her death.
This request to the court for protection against domestic violence was an obvious cry for help. Contact 13 learned it's a cry that was not heard.
Clark County Family Violence Commissioner Amy Mastin denied Phoukeo Dej-Oudom request on June 9, saying it did not meet the statutory requirement.
When the request for the protective order was filed, Dej-Oudom said she was separated from her husband and that she and her children were living with her cousin.
She checked the "NO" box where it asks if her husband has a firearm.
But she wrote, "throughout the marriage, the children's lives as well as mine have been threatened. Guns have been pulled out and pointed to our heads multiple times." She said the threats were made between 2000 and 2007 when the family lived in Ohio, telling the court they were all in danger of becoming victims of domestic violence.
She noted harassing phone calls and texts from Jason Dej-Oudom in early June and said he showed up at her place of work, threatening to take the children.
She said he demanded she return home and that anything else "was not an option." More chilling quotes she attributes to her husband read, "if anything were to happen to the children, (he) Hopes I can live with that." She says he also said, "this will not end well."
In the request, she refers to 2005 child abuse and domestic violence issues in Columbus, Ohio, where the couple moved here from last year.
She asked the court to keep Jason away from herself and her children and to grant her temporary custody.
We'll be asking the court why the protective order was denied as we continue our coverage of this community tragedy and continue to update this story.
