Shooting victim dies
Son returns home from Kuwait
By Staff
SHOOTING VICTIM – Susie Short was killed Wednesday by her husband, James Short. Submitted photo
By Fredie Carmichael / staff writer
Dec. 4, 2003
A 19-year-old Army reserve soldier stationed in Kuwait returns home to Meridian this week but the occasion is not a happy one.
Jaweldon R. Short is a member of Meridian's 1181st Transportation Terminal Battalion. When he left for the Middle East in June, his parents were in the middle of a heated divorce, with depositions in the case already under way.
Today, they're both dead.
On Wednesday morning, James Short, 43, followed his wife, Susie, 39, to work. Meridian police say he opened her car door as she was parked on 25th Avenue in front of United Blood Services, and fired a single shot at her head.
Police say James Short then drove to his home at 1435 44th Ave. and used the same gun to kill himself. Susie Short died hours later at Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center.
Emergency leave
Officials from an American Red Cross office near Kuwait arranged for Jaweldon to be flown home. Local Red Cross officials said today they were not sure when he is expected to arrive in Meridian.
James and Susie Short are also survived by another son, Jakeem, who is 11. James and Susie Short married March 19, 1983, about a year before their first son, Jaweldon, was born.
Bitter divorce
On Nov. 16, 2001, Susie Short filed for divorce in Lauderdale County Chancery Court on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. In court documents, she claimed James was guilty of adultery and "habitual cruel and inhuman treatment."
The file also shows that Susie claimed James "continuously harassed her in person and telephonically" and that he "falsely accused her of having an affair."
Susie said she was "forced to leave the marital home for her own personal safety." In later documents, James denied the accusation and said he deserved custody of the children.
Susie Short worked for Dr. Ronnye Purvis, a local obstetrician and gynecologist. Purvis said Short was a licensed professional nurse who had worked in his clinic for 10 years.
