Man shoots ex-girlfriend, kills himself in Portage

Thursday, May 12, 2005

A Battle Creek woman was shot in the head by her former boyfriend, who then killed himself Wednesday in the parking lot of a Portage Road business, according to police.

Tobi Meyer, 28, was taken into surgery at Bronson Methodist Hospital and listed in critical condition, Portage Police Department Lt. Don Butler said Wednesday.

Bronson officials, citing federal privacy laws, would not confirm Meyer was a patient at the facility.

Meyer and Demont Macdonald, 28, of Wyoming, had recently ended a six-and-a-half-year relationship, Butler said. They met in the parking lot of the State Farm Claims Center, 5564 Portage Road, at about 12:20 p.m. to exchange some possessions.

That's when Macdonald shot Meyer in the head, Butler said. Then he got into a truck and shot himself in the head. Macdonald was pronounced dead at Bronson, Butler said.

There were no witnesses to the shooting, police said. Butler said he believed the two had been living together in Wyoming. An Internet search of the two showed them listed at the same Wyoming address. No phone number was listed.

Meyer was taking a training course at the State Farm building, Butler said.

State Farm officials said this morning that Meyer has worked for the company for the past five years as a claims representative. Spokeswoman Angie Rinock said Meyer has worked at several State Farm locations in Michigan during that time, but was unaware how long she has worked at the Portage Road facility.

Company officials had on-site counseling today for employees at the Portage Road location and offices in Grand Rapids and Marshall for employees who know Meyer, Rinock said.

"We're very concerned and our hearts are going out to her and her family," Rinock said.

Kalamazoo Gazette