LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Christopher Gordon has been on the run for 48 hours, accused of killing 38-year-old Angelica James and shooting her 10-year-old son.
Police said Gordon and James were in a relationship. The 2-year-old they have together was the center of an Amber Alert.
He was found in about six hours.
"Children expect adults to take care of them, protect them," said Elizabeth Wessels-Martin, president and chief empowerment officer of The Center for Women and Families. "This person didn't and took away his mother."
Court records show there was a history of domestic violence between the two. Gordon was listed as a defendant for multiple other cases with at least one other woman. Arrest reports show he punched women in the face, threw someone on the ground and punched her in the ribs and slammed someone's head against a wall, among other allegations.
What happened Sunday brings back the memories of another deadly crime from 2009. Gordon was convicted of reckless homicide after killing 17-year-old Norman Beals. He was sentenced to five years in prison in 2011 but was released early.
Just two years later, he was charged with wanton endangerment in 2013 and was sentenced to three years. He was released early again, court records showing he was charged with domestic violence assault in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021.
Those cases all involved different women, but they were both mothers of his children.
"This individual's obviously very good at eluding the law enforcement, getting away with it," Wessels-Martin said. "He had Emergency Protective Orders. You know, one of the things with an EPO is you have an EPO out on you, you violate it, they call police, and police have to find you. That's hard, and I know. I've had conversations with police, and they'll be looking for someone for days.
"He's good at what he does. His history of violence goes on a very long time, and even the fact that he asked for his parole time to be reversed tells me he doesn't see that he's accountable. He doesn't see that what he does is wrong."
Wessels-Martin said it's the responsibility of everyone. If you see something that looks or sounds like a red flag, it probably is.
"A spouse, a partner talking to the other one in a very demeaning, derogatory, mean way, you know, say something," Wessels-Martin said. "Pull that person aside, whether it's the person who is saying the mean things or the one who's receiving it. That's not OK. It's not OK to talk to somebody like that."
The Victim Information and Notification Everyday (VINE) system alerts people about a change in custody of an offender.
"If your perpetrator is incarcerated and they are released from incarceration, you will get a notification," Wessels-Martin said. "You will get told they're leaving and they're being put on home incarceration. If they're on home incarceration and they cut off their bracelet, you will get notified that they have gone AWOL, something has changed in their status."
A city review committee will look into this case to see where domestic violence response changes could be made.
The Center for Women and Families is a seven-county, regional domestic violence and sexual assault service provider. The organization serves anybody who has survived domestic violence or sexual assault. It provides counseling, shelter, relocation services, legal advocacy and hospital advocacy.
Related Stories:
- Suspect at the center of Louisville murder, child abduction has lengthy history of domestic abuse
- Missing 2-year-old found, suspect still at large after woman killed in Newburg shooting
Copyright 2022 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
