Over the weekend in Florida, a mother of two was shot and killed in a hotel parking lot while her kids looked on, according to the authorities.
The Port St. Lucie Police Department reports that Ray Felix, 60, killed his wife Jamie Rae Felix, 45, in front of the Quality Inn in West Palm Beach, close to Palm Beach International Airport.
Ray Felix would turn the gun on himself later that day.
According to Monica Jackman, a friend of Jamie Felix, “Jamie Felix is a beautiful soul who will live forever in the hearts of those who love her. She loved her children to depths that words can’t express, she was incredibly brave and resilient, she had the most amazingly contagious laugh. She was compassionate, she was loyal and dedicated, she was a girl’s girl who lifted up her friends at every opportunity.”
Jamie Felix and her two boys were leaving what the authorities described as a recreational business on Friday, March 29, late in the afternoon, when the incident started, according to The Palm Beach Post.
At approximately 4 p.m., Ray Felix, wearing a disguise and holding a revolver, forced the lady and their two children, who were 10 and 17, into a Nissan rental car as they were making their way to the family’s Chevrolet SUV. The attacker then made his divorcing wife send an email to her Manatee Academy coworkers.
According to spokesman Master Sgt. Dominick Mesiti, that email “concerned” Jamie Felix’s colleagues educators, who eventually reported the strange message to police.
The four battled over their ongoing divorce while driving around for a time. They subsequently went back to the family’s parked car. Ray Felix forced the elder child to take the wheel of the rental car and follow the SUV where his mother and younger brother were being kept captive while holding his wife at gunpoint.
The unfortunate family spent hours driving about, eventually arriving in West Palm Beach, which is close by.
According to West Palm Beach-based CBS affiliate WPEC, during a press conference the next day, West Palm Beach Police spokesperson Mike Jachles stated that the two automobiles, which had stopped at the motel in question, had started back toward Port St. Lucie sometime after 7 p.m.
The adults exited the SUV in the parking lot. Though few details remain about the next few moments, Jamie Felix passed away shortly after.
About 7:20 p.m., the devoted mother and math teacher was shot many times and left to die on the sidewalk. Ray Felix climbed back into his rental and headed out.
The two boys and their mother were seated on the ground when the officers arrived, which was shortly after 7:30 p.m. The woman was declared dead at the scene despite the efforts of fire and rescue personnel to revive her. Police said there was no physical harm done to the boys.
At approximately 10:30 p.m., the murderer passed away at a nearby hospital.
Ray Felix was charged with battery for a domestic violence incident that happened at the family’s home on Northwest Rose Petal Court in Port St. Lucie in October 2023, according to court records that the Palm Beach Post was able to obtain.
Ray Felix was not allowed to speak to his wife or one of their children at all by the family court judge overseeing their divorce. In addition, he had previously been a dean’s clerk at Manatee Academy, where he was twice recognized as the school’s employee of the year, based on posts on Facebook.
