BY MITCH MITCHELL
When Kae Law’s mother died violently, several dreams she had been working toward also died, he said.
Emily Law, 49, who her family and friends called Susan, planned to enter the Ironman Triathlon race being held in Houston on Saturday, her son said. Entering the race would have fulfilled her goal of competing in all four Ironman Triathlons in Texas this year.
His mother wanted to finish those races before her 50th birthday in September, Kae Law said.
But before that could happen, Susan Law was found dead in her kitchen on Monday. Her son says the man her mother had been seeing, James Freeman, is the man who killed her.
“She may not have gotten to finish and hear: ‘Susan, you are an Ironman.’ But she’s my Ironman,” Kae Law said.
Robert Parker, Watauga police chief, confirmed Freeman is responsible for Law’s death. Freeman, 46, was shot and killed by Watauga police officers after he aimed a shotgun at them at Susan Law’s house Monday.
SWAT officers who entered the house after the shooting found Law’s body. Her cause of death has not been released and an autopsy is pending.
Freeman was accused of choking Susan Law on April 17. That day, Law applied and received an emergency protective order that prohibited Freeman from coming within 500 feet of her home and workplace, court records show. The order also prohibited Freeman from having access to a firearm.
In those respects, the order failed.
They had broken up but “she had given him a 30-day notice to vacate,” Kae Law, 25, said. “I think he was very jealous. She was a social person and I don’t think he liked that.”
Kae Law said his mother also dreamed of helping him plan and participating in his upcoming wedding. Those plans will also have to change, he said.
“I was looking forward to getting my mom’s help with the wedding,” Kae Law said. “My fiancée was too.”
HOW HIS DREAMS DIED
Kae Law said he called the police after he tried to reach his mother by phone on Monday, but was unsuccessful. When he could not reach her, he went to her house in Watauga and used his key to open the door.
“He [Freeman] was on the couch, passed out,” Kae Law said.
Kae Law waited on the doorstep and when police came, he opened the door for them, saw the shotgun, and started backing up just moments before the shooting started, he said.
“I wanted to get in there and get to my mom because I knew she was hurt, but I couldn’t,” he said. “It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to deal with.”
Kae Law said after his mother’s death, he dreamed of riding her motorcycle in a planned motorcade to her memorial site in Baird, Texas, that is scheduled for Tuesday. Baird is about 130 miles west of Fort Worth.
“I just don’t think it’s possible,” Kae Law said.
His mother’s motorcycle, named Tiffany, her bicycle and her car were all damaged during the domestic violence incident, Kae Law said. He said he suspects that Freeman also did that damage.
“He used paint remover on the bicycle and the motorcycle,” Kae Law said. “He bent the tire rims. On the motorcycle alone the damage is $6,000. I don’t know about the car yet.”
One of Susan Law’s friends, Cathy Lindsey, said she saw the signs that her friend had become involved in a toxic relationship. Law would end the relationship and then forgive Freeman repeatedly.
“In the end I had not seen her for awhile because she had isolated herself,” Lindsey said. “She would not come around because no one wanted him [Freeman] to come around.”
NOW A NEW GOAL
Now Kae Law says he has a new dream that Freeman cannot kill. The son said he has always been a runner and participated in numerous 5K events with his mother where they were very competitive and they pushed each other.
But Kae Law said that he never cared for the other two events, the swimming and bicycle riding events, that are part of the more than 140-mile course Ironman Triathlons require of their participants.
Kae Law says now he has decided to get ready for next year’s Houston Ironman race and run it in his mother’s honor.
“My mom’s trainer was very hurt by this and she has agreed to train me so I’ll be ready for next year,” Kae Law said. “I’m going to get her bike fixed and ride it in the race in her honor. It’s something that I want to do.”
Susan Law started training for the triathlon six years ago and competed in her first event in Galveston. Thursday was the fourth anniversary of the first time she competed in an Ironman Triathlon event, Kae Law said.
“I was very proud of her,” the son said.
Services for Law will begin at 11 a.m. at Parker Funeral Home in Baird. A funeral procession involving bicycles, motorcycles and other vehicles is planned. Those who wish to participate should check the Facebook event page.
The public is invited.
“Anyone who wants to participate is invited,” Kae Law said. “That’s who my mother was. She loved being around people. She was someone who cared about everyone and she just wanted to help everyone that she could.”
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