DALLAS _ The Fort Worth man who shot his ex-wife, her three children and her boyfriend at a Ponder home had initiated their divorce in August, court records show.
Amanda Lee Simpson, the mother of the three children killed Wednesday, was the only survivor of the rampage carried out by her ex, Justin Painter. She was in stable condition Thursday morning, a hospital spokesperson said.
The Tarrant County medical examiner's office identified the children as Drake Painter, 4; Caydence Painter, 6; and Odin Painter, 8. Simpson's boyfriend Seth Richardson, 29, also was killed.
Each of the children died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to the medical examiner's office. Richardson's cause of death was listed as a gunshot wound to the left side of his face.
Justin Painter, 39, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chin after shooting the others at a home on Lonestar Park Lane, officials said.
Records show Painter obtained a temporary restraining order against Simpson during their divorce to prevent her from communicating or interacting with him.
In October, two months after he filed for divorce, Painter posted on Facebook that he was in a "complicated" relationship.
"She is worth fighting for," he added in a comment.
That post has since been flooded with comments like: "I just don't understand how someone could kill their babies."
The divorce was finalized in March, court records show.
Simpson was ordered to pay child support to Painter, records show. He had primary custody of the children, but both parents cared for the children and spent time with them.
In Facebook Live videos posted from her hospital bed, Simpson has recounted the events leading up to the tragedy and detailed her recovery. In one video, she said the judge who handled her divorce didn't listen when she said her ex-husband was "mentally unstable" and had tried to commit suicide.
Judge Nancy Berger, who said she remembered presiding over the case, said there was no hearing during the divorce proceedings, so there would not have been time for comments Simpson mentioned.
In a video posted Thursday morning, Simpson said she and her boyfriend were just beginning to "start a life" together.
"Justin couldn't accept that I made a decision to make myself happy," she said, speaking about her ex-husband.
Richardson's older sister, Laura Kneeland, said her brother Seth had always been a compassionate and dedicated family man. After he went through a divorce of his own, an online relationship with Simpson gave him a chance to heal, she said.
Kneeland said she knew her brother was planning to visit Simpson in Texas, but she was surprised to learn this week that he had quit his job to move there.
"We didn't know why he was going, or why it had to be right then," Kneeland said. "He drove 16 hours to start a new life, and within two hours he was killed."
Kneeland found out her brother had died reading comments on Simpson's Facebook Live broadcast from the hospital. After calling her mother, Kneeland and her husband immediately drove to reunite with family in Savannah, Ga.
"It was the longest eight hours I've ever driven," Kneeland said.
The family plans to come to Texas together to make arrangements for Richardson, she said.
In one of the videos, Simpson thanked people in Ponder for a memorial they set up at a playground Wednesday, and encouraged people to remember her children. She said she has kept a framed photo of her children by her side in the hospital.
"Think of the kids," she said. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."
