Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 16, 1991 TAG: 9104160324
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: VICTORIA RATCLIFF STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Bonnie Sue Mullins, of the 2800 block of Mount Pleasant Boulevard, died almost instantly of a single gunshot wound to the face, according to an autopsy performed Monday.
She apparently was answering her door just before midnight Sunday when she was shot, authorities said. The bullet that hit Mullins will be examined at the forensic laboratory in Roanoke, police said.
Mullins' body was found lying near the front door of the house. Authorities said Mullins' 13-year-old daughter was asleep in the house when the shooting occurred.
Mullins' husband, Jack Mullins, had been out with friends but arrived home soon after the shooting, and he and his daughter discovered the body, police said.
Jack Mullins reported the shooting to police just after midnight.
Police have not made any arrests but are interviewing a number of witnesses in an attempt to develop leads, according to Ray Lavinder, captain of the Roanoke County criminal investigations division.
Lavinder said there is nothing to indicate that Mullins' slaying was drug-related. But a Vinton police officer had testified at a preliminary hearing in Roanoke County General District Court in February that Mullins had knowingly helped set up a drug deal for police in Vinton a month earlier.
In that case, authorities said, Mullins purchased about 2 pounds of marijuana for $4,950 from Sharon Henegar, one of her friends.
After setting Henegar up for the police, Mullins posted her bond by acting as surety and posting her property at 1114 Stewart Ave. S.E. to secure a $3,000 bond, court records show.
Mullins also had been indicted recently on drug and gun charges in New Jersey, authorities said.
Police and several lawyers who had dealt with Mullins through the years said Monday that she was a marijuana dealer who had begun informing on people in the drug world.
"Bonnie was playing both sides against the middle. I know of about a half a dozen people who would want to kill her," one law-enforcement official said. Mullins' death "doesn't surprise me a bit," he said.
A lawyer who knew Mullins' background said, "Bonnie's been working both sides of the street so long, it's no surprise to me she got killed."
Mullins also had a history of marital violence, court records show.
She and her husband were in Roanoke County Family Court as recently as Thursday to resolve two assault charges Jack Mullins had filed against his wife last December.
Salem lawyer Vince Lilley, who represented Bonnie Mullins in that case, said Monday that his client and her husband had settled their differences and were "all lovey-dovey" in court Thursday.
According to Lilley and Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Mark Claytor, Jack Mullins had charged his wife with threatening him with a butcher knife on one occasion and then chasing him through their home with a butcher knife several days later.
Warrants on file in Roanoke County Family Court show that Mullins was charged with assaulting her husband on Dec. 25 and again on Dec. 28.
Lilley said his client had denied chasing or threatening her husband with a butcher knife. He said the two had agreed to settle their differences with an accord and satisfaction agreement.
Bonnie Mullins paid her husband a dollar and gave him a kiss, and her husband agreed to drop the charges, Lilley said.
Claytor said that Jack Mullins had wanted to drop the charges against his wife when the two appeared in court for arraignment, but that the commonwealth's attorney's office did not allow withdrawals of assault charges in domestic cases. "When they reached an accord and satisfaction, it took it out of my hands," he said.
Roanoke County court records show that Jack Mullins filed for a divorce from his wife on Jan. 25.
In the divorce papers, Jack Mullins accused his wife of desertion and asked for custody of the couple's daughter.
Lilley said Monday, however, that Bonnie and Jack Mullins had reconciled and simply had not filed a reconciliation agreement.
Jack Mullins' attorney, Leroy Moran, said Monday that it was his recollection also that Jack and Bonnie Mullins had reconciled and the divorce was "on hold."
Calls to the Mullins residence were not answered Monday evening.
Lavinder said that police had been receiving information about Bonnie Mullins' history and were following all leads.
"The whole thing is real weird," he said.
***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on April 17, 1991\ Clarification
Sharon Spence Henegar of 1148 Murray Ave. SE is the woman who was charged in a Vinton drug deal in January. A story Tuesday morning did not give her full name or address.
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Keywords:
ROMUR
Memo: correction