A Florida woman has been charged with killing her ex-partner’s new girlfriend and wounding her ex-partner during a custody exchange on Christmas day in a drugstore parking lot.
Amanda Marie Janzen, 38, led police on a 13-mile, high-speed chase after the shooting in Gainesville before she was caught near a Taco Bell in Alachua, The Alachua Chronicle reported.
According to the arrest report, Janzen and the male victim in the shooting had been together since September 11 and have an 11-month-old child together. After the baby was born, however, Janzen believed that the man had been having an with the female victim for several years. She called the female victim’s husband and told him her suspicions.
Weeks later, the baby’s father filed for custody of the baby, and on December 20, a Putnam County court ordered the two to share custody. Janzen was to hand over the child on December 25 at a Walgreens in Gainesville.
Janzen drove to the location with the baby and her other four children. Along the way, the arrest report says, she stopped and gave her oldest son her debit card, food stamp card, and instructions on paying his cell phone bill. Then she drove to the drugstore, arriving before the victims.
The victims arrived in the female victim’s car, with her driving and the baby’s father in the passenger seat. He got out of the car, and Janzen got out of hers, hiding the gun behind her back. She approached the driver’s side of the other vehicle and shot the woman three times, then circled around the car and shot the man three times, shouting, “You made this happen!”
Police said the incident was captured on the drugstore’s security cameras.
Janzen got back in her car and took off. A Gainesville Police officer, who had been nearby, heard the gunshots and saw the car peel out of the parking lot. He was joined on the pursuit by other Gainesville officers, Allachua County deputies, and Alachua police officers as speed reached 100 miles per hour.
Janzen reported called 911 in the midst of the pursuit and said she had just shot two people. She identified her victims and said police were chasing her. A dispatcher reported hearing children pleading with her to pull over.
Police reported found a discarded handgun near the Taco Bell. A search found two magazines.
Janzen has been charged with first degree murder, attempted first degree murder, and five counts of child neglect. Bail was set at $2 million.
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[Featured image: Amanda Janzen/Alachua County Sheriff’s Office]
