Woman, stepfather had history of violence before shooting

The woman suspected of shooting her stepfather in the leg Wednesday at his Colbert home also may have shot him in the head and fired multiple shots at a visiting neighbor, according to deputies’ reports. And before the early-morning attack, she lay in wait under the front porch, dressed in black with a hood over her head, reports say. Jennifer Anderson, 38, is charged with first-degree attempted murder for shooting her stepfather, Dennis Platz, 63, and first-degree assault for attempting to shoot his neighbor, Daniel Carver, 62. Anderson is being held in the Spokane County Jail on a $500,000 bond. Carver told deputies he called Platz around 5:30 a.m. to borrow a field sprayer. Platz, who was sleeping in a camping trailer with his wife, met Carver outside the home at 17911 N. Hardesty Road. Then they watched a black-clad figure emerge from under the porch, pull out a handgun and begin firing, reports say. Carver ducked. Platz was struck in the leg and fell to the ground. Carver told deputies he watched the shooter stand over Platz and, without saying a word, shoot at least one round at his head. Deputy Mark Greggory, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, declined to say if a bullet struck Platz’s head, although deputies found one casing lodged several inches in the ground. Another deputy reported finding bullet fragments in one of Platz’s ears at Sacred Heart Medical Center. He was in serious condition there Thursday afternoon, a hospital spokeswoman said. Anderson fled the scene of Wednesday’s shooting in the rural area in northern Spokane County. Deputies caught her in a wooded area about a mile away from the home. In the same area, they found a handgun and an extra magazine matching the .40 caliber shells found at the crime scene. Deputies also found a 2001 Ford Ranger that Anderson had been driving parked several blocks away from the home. An acquaintance had loaned her the truck after she asked for a reliable vehicle to get to an appointment, reports say. Deputies suspect she didn’t want her minivan to be seen in the area. This was not the first bout of violence between Anderson and her stepfather. In early February, during a brief period when Anderson was living at the home, she stabbed Platz multiple times while he allegedly strangled her during a fight. Platz denied that allegation but was arrested for second-degree assault. Anderson moved out and filed a restraining order against him, and deputies say he has not contacted her since then. In late April, someone tried to shoot Platz as he slept on the couch in the front room of the home. Platz could not identify the shooter, who fired multiple shots through a window, but told deputies he suspects it was Anderson. Gail Platz told deputies that Anderson, her daughter, has a history of mental illness.