It's been more than a year since Bridgette Flowers was shot in the head and died.
The man charged with her death was her husband, Jasento Flowers. His trial is scheduled to begin at the end of this month.
Bridgette's family members, including her children who were eyewitnesses, are preparing to testify against the man they say killed her.
Since the murder, Flowers' oldest daughter, Tearro Moore has been wondering why. Moore says she saw it all happen. She said she, her mother, and several others were sitting in a minivan when Jasento Flowers approached looking upset.
"As he start to walk off, he reached his hand in the car and just shot. And as he shot, my mom instantly fell over," said Moore.
Despite paramedics' attempts to save her, Bridgette was already dead. Her mother Vanessa Lavender says she warned her.
"I told her, I said, 'Bridgette, please stay away from him,' and she said, 'Momma, I'm not afraid of Jasento.' I said, 'He knocked you out and left you dead at Walmart, so you know he's coming back,'" said Lavender.
Just days before, Jasento Flowers was arrested on assault charges against Bridgette at the Gray Highway Walmart. According to the police report, surveillance video showed a man fitting Jasento's description punching her twice in the face, and knocking her unconscious on Valentine's Day.
That night he was booked into the Bibb County jail, and the next day, released on a special conditions bond.
"Special conditions on a bond would be that a particular accused would have no contact with the victim," said Magistrate Court Judge William Shurling who granted Flowers' bond.
He says violating those conditions should have landed him back to jail, on more serious charges.
"If the accused should even pick up the phone and contact the victim, then that accused can be charged with an aggravated stalking then the bond can only be set by superior court judge," said Shurling.
According to Bridgette's kids, Jasento Flowers called Bridgette several times after he was released.
But Bridgette wasn't aware of the conditions, and the actions she could have taken.
That's because magistrate courts in the state of Georgia don't notify victims about what rules they place on suspects. The victim is responsible for calling the court, and getting that information.
"There is no legal requirement that the magistrate court notify victims," said Shurling.
The Solicitor General's office does notify victims eventually, but that takes thirty days. Bridgette was dead within eight.
Solicitor General, Rebecca Grist, says she never received the Jasento Flowers file, and therefore couldn't notify Bridgette in time.
"There's always a gap between the time that the defendant sees the magistrate, and the time that the prosecutors office actually gets the physical file and paperwork," said Grist.
As as we've found through our investigation, Jasento walking out of the Bibb County jail should've been more difficult given his past criminal history, and the fact that he was on parole.
"Flowers has been in our jail 18 times all the way back to 1988," said Bibb County Sheriff David Davis.
And from 1992 to 2001, he was on a life sentence in prison for possession of cocaine. After 9 years he was released on parole. According to Bibb County Sheriff David Davis, Flowers found himself back in trouble, "comes back in 2005, then again in 2007 two times," said Davis.
Records show all of those times, the Sheriff's Department placed a parole hold on Flowers. That would've prevented him from getting bond, and require he'd appear in front of the parole judge.
That's also the policy of the Bibb County Sheriff's Office. So why wasn't one placed after he was arrested and accused of knocking Bridgette out?
Davis admits his department made a mistake and never placed the hold.
"Anytime you've got humans doing a job, there's always a possibility for error," said Davis.
We contacted the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles about what would've happened if the Sheriff's Department followed procedures.
They told us by email, "In this case, proceedings would have been implemented to have him revoked back to prison."
Davis says he has launched an investigation to find out exactly what happened, and hopes it won't happen again.
But his assurance does not comfort the family, they believe their mother's life could have been saved.
"The system is jacked up. That's how I feel about it," said Tearro Moore.
For more information and resources for domestic violence victims, you can call the local crisis line at 478-745-9292.
