Palm Beach County employee charged with murdering his wife: "She was cheating on me."

Oct 15, 2009 (Sun Sentinel - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- ZZFJV | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- PALM BEACH COUNTY -- The McLellans were set to mark their 10th wedding anniversary next month. But on Wednesday night, Lance McLellan shot and killed his wife while their 9-year-old daughter was home, investigators said.

Deputies at the door told him to drop his weapon. McLellan put it to his chin and fired, but only burned his cheek. His wife, Kathryn, 39, was found dead in the bedroom of the west of Lake Worth home.

She called 911 while hiding in her daughter's bedroom. Then a gunshot rung out and the phone call dropped. Dispatchers called back.

"Things aren't good and you better get here," Lance McLellan, a county code enforcement officer, told 911 dispatchers. "My name is Lance McLellan and I just shot my wife. She was cheating on me, I caught her and it's done."

McLellan, 49, was treated at a hospital for the burn and booked into county jail Thursday, charged with murder.

It was the second domestic homicide this week, in the middle of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Palm Beach County sheriff's Sgt. Scott Shoemaker said domestic homicides are up to seven this year. The killer committed suicide in three of the cases.

"The majority of them follow a similar pattern," Shoemaker said. "Usually the woman is trying to escape an abusive relationship and when they are finally going to leave the abuser, it's the most dangerous time."

On Monday morning, Robert Martens killed his wife of 20 years, Donna Martens in their west of West Palm Beach home.

Martens, 57, shot himself in the head and remains in Broward General Medical Center in critical condition. He has not yet been charged in the homicide. Neighbors in the 300 block of Foresta Terrace told investigators the couple were in a physical fight outside their home and then went inside. Deputies found Donna Martens, 55, dead in the master bedroom.

Neighbors didn't hear much in the McLellan case, which occurred about 10:10 p.m. in the 6000 block of Homeland Road, their home since marrying in 1999.

"I never heard of any problems over there," neighbor Steven Sprague said. "They seemed like hard-working good people. It's mind boggling."

The two loved the outdoors, Sprague said. Donna owned a trail horse and Lance fed deer in his backyard.

After Lance confessed to the dispatcher, the phone call dropped again, the Sheriff's Office said. The dispatcher called again and his daughter picked up.

"My mom is in the bathroom and I don't know where my dad is," the girl said, according to the dispatcher. "I don't know if my mom and dad are alive."

Sometime that night, Lance McLellan also called his mother, Dorothy Rauch, and asked her to care for his daughter. The daughter was released to Rauch, of west of Boca Raton, who declined to comment. Kathryn McLellan's family, who live in Collier County, also declined to comment. The little girl was lucky her father did not turn on her, Shoemaker said.

"It all depends on what's going through the abuser's head," he said. "It could be just the wife, it could just be the kids, it could be the wife and kids."

Staff Researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report.

Jerome Burdi can be reached at jburdi@SunSentinel.com or 561-243-6531.

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