Police seek ex-husband in shooting outside day care

The shooting of a woman Tuesday outside a Northwestside day care center followed a long-running custody battle that came to a head last week when a judge awarded custody of the couple's child to her father — the alleged shooter.

But that court order didn't end the custody fight between Shirley Justice and her ex-husband, Christopher Justice.

A court document filed Tuesday asserts that Shirley Justice had refused to return the child after a Valentine's Day visit. An attorney for Christopher Justice was in court filing that document — an effort to force her to immediately hand over the child — just as the shooting occurred.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police say Shirley Justice, 31, was shot multiple times about 7:20 a.m. in the parking lot of Eagle View KinderCare Learning Center, 6750 Eagle View Drive. She was reported in critical condition at IU Methodist Hospital. No other update on her condition or details about the nature of her injuries were provided Tuesday evening.

Shirley Justice had dropped off the couple's 6-year-old daughter and her other child at the day care moments before she was shot near her car.

Police were still looking late Tuesday for Christopher Justice, 33. According to police, Shirley Justice told officers at the scene that her ex-husband shot her.

Police have released few other details about the case.

Contentious divorce

More than 100 pages of court documents detailing the couple's contentious divorce and custody dispute shed light on some of the underlying circumstances leading up to the shooting.

The battle started in 2008, a year after the couple was married and the child at the center of the custody fight was born.

In June 2008, a few weeks after filing for divorce, Shirley Justice went to a domestic violence shelter and filed a complaint saying her husband had physically abused her for the past several months, according to an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police report.

Christopher Justice "stated to her that he would kill her and her daughter if she leaves him," Shirley Justice told police, the report says.

Most of those charges were dropped, though Christopher Justice was charged with invasion of privacy. He agreed to participate in 26 weeks of domestic violence counseling through probation, and the case was dismissed, said Marion County Prosecutor's Office spokesman AJ Deer. During that time, Shirley Justice also filed a no-contact order against her husband.

In April 2009, as the divorce was finalized, Christopher Justice satisfied terms of his probationary period. Deer said the no-contact order likely ended around that time.

Shirley Justice was given primary custody of their daughter after the divorce — a decision Christopher Justice challenged for years.

The custody case came to a head in September 2012 when the Department of Child Services started investigating a possible neglect and abuse case involving the couple's daughter while she was in the mother's care.

Four months later, after the DCS investigation concluded, Christopher Justice was awarded temporary custody of his daughter. He'd soon try to make it permanent.

After more than a year of court appearances and DCS investigations, Christopher Justice appeared to get his wish.

Marion County Superior Court Judge Patrick McCarty issued an order Feb. 10 handing sole custody of the child to Christopher Justice. The judge cited the DCS investigation that not only found evidence the child was abused by her mother and another unknown person, but also that Shirley Justice had made up accusations that her ex-husband has abused the child.

Psychological testing revealed Shirley Justice "appears to be suffering from serious untreated psychological issues and may be suffering from deficiencies in reality testing, judgment, emotional control and interpersonal relationships," according to the custody order.

Despite the order, the battle for custody continued.

Shirley Justice challenged Judge McCarty's decision to hand custody to her ex-husband. She filed a request that he be removed from the case, claiming he took too long to make his decision. That order was granted the same day McCarty's custody order was filed in Marion County Superior Court, though both sides disagreed over what that meant for the child's custody status.

The case continued to drag on — even as Christopher Justice was allegedly shooting his ex-wife outside the day care center.

According to the motion filed Tuesday by Christopher Justice's attorney, Jennifer Bays Beinart, Shirley Justice had refused to acknowledge the new court custody order.

After Christopher Justice dropped the child off at his ex-wife's house last Friday for visitation, she refused to return her.

"This is a child who has been the subject of a (Child In Need of Services investigation) who we believe to be in grave, serious, physical danger with this woman," Beinart told The Indianapolis Star by phone Tuesday.

Beinart declined to speak about Tuesday's shooting, saying it was still under investigation.

On Tuesday afternoon, a woman contacted by phone who identified herself as a member of Christopher Justice's family declined to comment on the investigation. The woman fought back tears as she spoke. She repeatedly stated that the family was turning to God in light of the shooting.

Police believe Christopher Justice is driving a black Ford Fusion with an "In God We Trust" plate number UXR330 with 2014 expiration.

Mom shot multiple times

Shirley Justice, who police say was shot multiple times, was found on the ground in the parking lot by a day care center manager, police said.

The shooting occurred after she had taken her two children into the center. There were about 15 other children inside the facility at the time of the shooting, IMPD Lt. Chris Bailey said. None were injured.

The day care center closed for the day after the shooting and parents were called to pick up children.

Lolita Robinson, 40, Indianapolis, hurried to the facility to pick up her 6-year-old niece after seeing news reports of the shooting. The child's mother was out of town for work, she said.

"I had to go make sure my baby girl right here was OK and safe," Robinson said. "I'm sorry this bad thing has happened at her day care. Shouldn't no child experience anything like that."

Star researcher Cathy Knapp and Star reporters Justin L. Mack and Bill McCleery contributed to this story. Call Star reporter Jill Disis at (317) 444-6137. Follow her on Twitter: @jdisis.