A former college basketball player fatally shot his estranged wife, a medical examiner, at her Dallas office and then turned the gun on himself in what authorities said was a murder-suicide.
James Edward Frost II, 51, who played for the University of Missouri in the 1990s, and Beth Ellen Frost, 46, were found dead at the Dallas Medical Examiner’s Office around 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, the Dallas Morning News reported.
James Frost is believed to have shot his wife and another employee at the office before killing himself, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins told the paper.
The second victim was injured but the person’s identity and condition were not immediately released.
According to court records cited by the paper, the couple had been married since July 2001 and had two children together — a 9-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy.
Beth Ellen Frost, 46, a medical examiner in Dallas, was shot dead by her estranged husband, James Edward Frost II, 51.UT Southwestern Medical Center
Beth filed for divorce on May 2, according to the records, which say the marriage had become “insupportable because of discord or conflict of personalities between Beth and Jed that destroys the legitimate ends of the marriage relationship and prevents any reasonable expectation of reconciliation.”
Beth didn’t initially request a protective order or custody of the kids, but a child custody evaluation was ordered in early October, the Morning News reported, citing the records.
She reportedly believed James would enter into agreements to give both access to their children and their estate.
Beth, who received her osteopathic medical degree from Kansas City University in 2012, had been with the Dallas office as a medical examiner since June 2020, according to her LinkedIn profile. She was the office’s forensic pathology fellow from 2016 to 2017.
James, who went by “Jed,” became a teacher and basketball coach at Odessa and Park Hill South high schools near Kansas City — and later coached at Iowa State University and the University of Hawaii, according to the report.
After stints as an insurance and financial representative, he reportedly launched a luxury leather bag business called FROST, with items ranging in price from $5,000 to $75,000, the paper said.
The couple appeared to be in the midst of financial difficulties, with Jed’s father, James Frost Sr., filing a lawsuit against them in August alleging that they failed to pay back $228,916 he had loaned them.
The elder Frost claimed in the lawsuit that he loaned them the money to buy property, including one house in 2006 and another in 2010.
Frost Sr. said they had repaid just under $75,000 and were “fully aware” that he expected to be repaid in full — but that they refused to fork over the balance when he demanded it.
In a recent court filing, Beth denied Frost Sr.’s allegations and requested that the suit be consolidated into their divorce case, the Morning News reported.
Earlier this year, Jed paid Bank of America about $12,000, while State Farm Federal Credit Union filed an action against him seeking the repayment of about $50,000, the paper said.
Jed reportedly denied owing the money.
County Commissioner John Wiley Price said investigators are still looking into how Jed got into the building through an employee entrance.
You can have the best security in the world, and you can’t stop people who are determined whatever evil they are going to carry out,” Price told Fox 4 News.
“He could’ve sat in the parking lot and done the same thing. He knew where she worked,” he added.
