Angela Luke, right, killed her husband, Daniel, by hitting him with her car after he attacked her. (Facebook)
Charges have been dropped against an Ohio teacher and mother of two girls who fatally struck her husband with her car while her kids were inside.
Angela Luke, 40, had been charged with reckless homicide and aggravated vehicular homicide in the death of her husband of 18 years, Daniel Luke, the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette reported.
The Lukes’ 12-year-old daughter said in a 911 call that her father had attacked her mother before he was hit by the car. Daniel Luke, 42, died Monday at a hospital, one day after the incident at their home in Bloom Township, Ohio.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Their 12-Year-Old Daughter Chillingly Described Her Father’s Death in a 911 Call
Angela and Daniel Luke. (Facebook)
In a 17-minute 911 call, the 12-year-old daughter of Angela and Daniel Luke tearfully told dispatchers what was happening at their home. Details of the call were released Tuesday night, the Columbus Dispatch reports. Audio of the 911 call has not been made public. The incident started at about 8 p.m. Sunday night and continued until just after 9 p.m.
The 911 call was detailed by the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette and other media outlets.
“He’s pinning her to my bed and he’s making marks on my mom, and he’s like, and he’s not letting her through or anything,” she said, while screaming for her father to stop and crying.
She then tells the dispatcher her dad is choking her mom, and screams at him to stop. The girl told the dispatcher that they had tried to leave the home several times, but were stopped by her father. At one point she tells the dispatcher that he is hurting her.
When the 12-year-old girl, her sister and mother made it out to the car, she told the dispatcher that her father had grabbed onto it.
The girl says, “Go fast, Mommy, go fast.” Her father then lost his grip of the car and fell to the driveway.
“My father’s dead!” the girl told the dispatcher. “My father’s dead! My father’s dead! Please come help, hurry!”
The dispatcher asked if her mom had hit her father with the car, and the girl said, “Not on purpose.”
Angela Luke later told detectives that she heard a “thump” when she was driving away with her husband holding onto the car. She said she stopped and saw her husband on the ground, bleeding from the head. She then ran to a neighbor for help.
2. Angela Luke Had Been Suspended From Her Job as a Teacher After She Was Arrested
Luke is a teacher at a local elementary school. (Pickerington School District)
Angela Luke was initially suspended from her job as a second grade teacher elementary school teacher in nearby Pickerington, Ohio. But after details of the 911 call were publicized and school officials met with her attorney, she was fully reinstated, the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette reports.
David Ball, a spokesman for the school district, told the newspaper that they had already decided to reinstate her pay before the charges were dropped.
An email was sent to parents saying that it was up to them to tell their children what happened to their teacher, but that counselors would be available at the school if needed, the Columbus Dispatch reports.
3. There Were No Previous Reports of Domestic Violence Incidents at the Home
(Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office)
According to the Fairfield County Sheriffs Office, there were no prior reports of domestic violence at the home of Daniel and Angela Luke, the Columbus Dispatch reports.
In the 911 call, their 12-year-old daughter says, “This has never happened before.” She said, “They’ve been fighting for a long time, but he’s never took it this far.”
She also told the dispatcher that her father was drinking. It does not appear that he or his wife had a criminal record.
4. The Charges Can Still Be Re-Filed or Taken to a Grand Jury
(Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office)
According to the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, the charges against Angela Luke can be re-filed at a later date or taken to a grand jury.
Fairfield County Prosecutor Gregg Marx said in a statement that his office is “reviewing the recent tragedy with the outstanding work and full cooperation of the Fairfield County Sheriffs Office and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation. I have already spoken to her attorney, Mr. Jon Tyack and I am personally working on this case.”
He said the investigation is expected to last 30 days, and his office will not be commenting on it until it is finished.
5. The Car & Other Evidence Was Seized by Investigators
According to the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, the car, a 2014 black BMW, was seized by investigators, along with several other pieces of evidence from the Alspach Road home.
Detectives also took a bloody bed sheet from the Lukes’ master bedroom, a bloodied bed sheet from one of the children’s bedrooms and two cell phones.
