Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 21, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE C4 winnipegfreepress. com Winnipeg Free Press, July 21, 2015 C4 ATLANTA - A former NFL player's mistress, apparently jealous he was taking his wife on a trip to Las Vegas, drove to his home near Atlanta, kidnapped her romantic rival and led officers on a chase into Alabama before killing the wife and herself, police said. Lisa Brown, 46, showed up at the workplace of former Buffalo Bills player Buster Barnett on the morning of July 15 and was upset about the planned trip, Clayton County police spokeswoman Officer Charlene Watson- Fraser said. She then went to Barnett's home in Ellenwood and abducted his wife, 50- year- old Sandra Barnett. Ruby Chester, a longtime friend of Sandra Barnett, said she was on the phone with her at about 11: 20 a. m. on July 15 when someone knocked on Barnett's door. Chester said she could hear a woman's voice yelling " Open this door! Open this door or I'm going to kill you!" Chester said she heard Barnett talking to the woman: " Don't hurt me, ma'am! I don't know you!" Then she asked, " Are you Lisa Brown?" Chester said she and Sandra Barnett had known each other for 10 years and kept no secrets from each other, so she knew that Buster Barnett, who she said is now an Atlanta school teacher, had been involved in an affair with a woman named Lisa Brown. Chester said Brown had harassed her close friend for at least a couple of years as Barnett tried to keep her marriage together. " Lisa Brown had been aggressive toward Barnett and had been bothering Barnett off and on for some time - showing up at the house, texting her, calling her," Chester said. But her friend would never do anything about it, leaving it for her husband to handle, Chester said. Chester tried calling police the day of her phone call with Sandra Barnett, but wasn't in the same county so she wasn't connected to the correct police department, she told an officer, according to a police report. She then called Gerald Payton, a friend and co- worker, and asked him to drive by the Barnetts' home. When Payton arrived, he saw a black Dodge Durango parked in front of the home and a woman in the garage, he told police. He then wrote down the tag number on the SUV, called 911 and drove around the corner to wait for police. Before officers arrived, he saw the SUV drive by but couldn't tell if Barnett was in it, the police report says. Payton tried calling Barnett several times, but kept getting her voice mail. Sandra Barnett's brother, John Brooks, told police the vehicle belonged to his sister's husband's " ex- girlfriend and that she had some issues," the police report said. Clayton County police put out a lookout on the Durango. Sheriff's deputies in west Georgia saw the vehicle the next morning and chased it along Interstate 20 into Alabama, police said. The SUV stopped on a stretch of the freeway in Cleburne County, Ala., and a standoff ensued, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency spokesman Steve Jarrett said in an emailed statement. Police said Brown reached into the back seat of the SUV, grabbed a gun and shot Sandra Barnett before shooting herself. Both women were dead when officers got to the SUV, authorities said. Watson- Fraser said she didn't know where the two women were between the time of the abduction July 15 and when authorities spotted them the next day. Buster Barnett told police he and Brown were in a relationship. He owned her home and vehicle and told police he was " helping her out," Watson- Fraser said. - The Associated Press Ex- NFLer's wife abducted and killed Mistress implicated in murder- suicide By Kate Brumback TORONTO - Canadian rhythmic gymnast Patricia Bezzoubenko won a silver medal in the clubs competition at the Pan Am Games on Monday. Her score of 15.933 was just behind American Laura Zeng, who led the eight- athlete field at the Toronto Coliseum with 16.167 points. American Jasmine Kerber took the bronze with a score of 15.833. Canada later added a bronze in the clubs/ hoops group competition with 13.709 points. The Americans took gold ( 14.983) and Brazil won silver ( 14.692). Bezzoubenko, from Thornhill, Ont., just missed the podium in the ribbon competition with a fourth- place finish. She won a bronze medal in the all- around competition on Saturday. Zeng won her second gold of the day with a score of 16.267 in the ribbon final. Kerber won silver ( 15.992) and Brazil's Angelica Kvieczynski took the bronze ( 15.633). Bezzoubenko's coach appealed the difficulty score and after a brief inquiry, her point total went up slightly but the order of finish remained the same. Carmen Whelan of Aurora, Ont., was seventh in both individual finals. Bezzoubenko won five gold medals for Canada at the Commonwealth Games last year in Glasgow. The field is deeper at this event with the powerhouse Americans and a different mix of countries in the field. - The Canadian Press By Gregory Strong Bezzoubenko takes silver in clubs competition DARREN CALABRESE / THE CANADIAN PRESS Patricia Bezzoubenko earned a silver medal in the rhythmic gymnastics clubs routine. T ORONTO - Kia Nurse poured in 33 points to lift Canada's women's basketball team to a 81- 73 victory over the United States on Monday night for its first- ever Pan American Games gold medal. Natalie Achonwa added 13 in her first tournament with Canada since tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee last year. Tamara Tatham chipped in with 10 points for the Canadians, whose depth and attention to defence made them the class of the tournament as they reeled off five wins in five nights. The Canadians led by as many as 17 points in front of a delirious sell- out crowd of about 3,300 flagwaving fans at Ryerson University's Mattamy Athletic Centre. The Americans would pull within five points twice in the fourth quarter, and trailed just 78- 73 with 18 seconds to play. A free throw by Achonwa and then two by Nurse with seven seconds left sealed Canada's victory. - The Canadian Press Canadian women romp over U. S. for hoops gold PHOTOS BY JULIO CRUZ / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LEFT: Canada's Nirra Fields takes a shot during Canada's 81- 73 victory over the U. S. in the women's gold- medal basketball game. ABOVE: Team Canada players flood the court to celebrate their gold- medal victory. C_ 04_ Jul- 21- 15_ FP_ 01. indd C4 7/ 20/ 15 10: 43: 04 PM ;