Report: Gunman's Ex-wife Sought Half Of Property In Divorce Settlement

Saturday, October 6th 2007, 7:04 pm

By: News On 6

ALEXANDRIA, La. (AP) _ A 63-year-old man who killed two people and wounded three others at a downtown law firm was involved in a divorce settlement in which his ex-wife laid claim to half his property, court records show.

John C. Ashley was killed in a 10-hour standoff with police that ended around 12:30 a.m. Friday. Police say the retired city maintenance worker's anger over the divorce settlement may have triggered the rampage.

His ex-wife, Audrey Ashley, was entitled to more than $55,000 in net assets and had recently claimed she was due a portion of his retirement, according to court records obtained by The (Alexandria) Town Talk newspaper. The couple divorced in 1997.

On Tuesday, Alexandria state District Judge George C. Metoyer signed an order for John Ashley to explain why his ex-wife's estimation of assets was not accurate.

John Ashley opened fire at the Giordano & Giordano Law Office, killing 32-year-old Camille ``Joey'' Giordano II and postal worker John Martin ``Marty'' Thiels, 50. Three others were injured, but their conditions were not available Saturday.

Although no lawyer is listed as Ashley's attorney in recent court records, David Hesser, an Alexandria lawyer, said Ashley called him seeking new legal representation.

``The shocking thing to me is that when I talked to him, I didn't think at all, 'This guy's a loose cannon,''' Hesser said. ``I talk to a lot of people that would cause me much more concern than him. He must have kept his anger to himself.''