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Slain attorney's 1st wife also shot him, lawyer says

By Sue Lindsay, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published December 7, 2007 at 12:30 a.m.
Updated December 7, 2007 at 11:13 a.m.

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Trinidad lawyer Jim Tatum was gunned down in his kitchen by his wife, according to a Las Animas county deputy who witnessed the shooting.

But, by all accounts, this isn't the first time Tatum was shot at by a spouse.

The former Las Animas county attorney's current wife, Ann, 57, was arrested in his slaying last Thursday on a charge of second-degree murder. She was released Wednesday after her father posted a $175,000 cash bond, according to court records.

In the early 1980s, Jim Tatum's first wife, Elizabeth, grabbed a .22-caliber revolver from the nightstand in their bedroom and shot Tatum, who ran out of the house naked to a neighbor's house for help, said Dick DeGuerin, the Houston lawyer who represented Elizabeth Tatum in the divorce.

"His death is 27 years overdue," DeGuerin said. "He was slapping her around, and she reached for a gun. Unfortunately, she got a .22 instead of the 9 mm next to it."

Tatum was shot in the forearm, and the bullet exited the back of his upper arm, DeGuerin said.

"He ran away, thinking she might take another shot," he said. "He ran down the street naked to a neighbor's house and called police. By the time they got there, Liz had left."

DeGuerin said he can't remember what, if any, charges were filed against Liz Tatum but thinks "we kept her from being charged." If a charge was filed, the case was ultimately dismissed, he said.

Tatum was representing himself in the divorce and showed up a few days after the shooting with a bandage on his arm for a deposition of his ex-wife's alleged lover.

"In the deposition, he kept pulling out this lock-blade knife, about 4 inches long, opening it up and cleaning his fingernails with it as if he was going to cut my throat," DeGuerin said.

Elizabeth Tatum, through her family, has declined to be interviewed.

The shooting incident is described in the book Sleeping with the Devil, a 1991 account of a Houston murder in which Tatum is mentioned as serving as a lawyer for some of those involved.

As author and lawyer Suzanne Finstad describes it, Tatum had recently filed for divorce from Elizabeth Tatum and was asleep in bed when she "picked up a .22 revolver, pointed it at him, fired and missed."

Tatum "leaped out of bed and ran down the street, naked, screaming for help," Finstad wrote.

The book describes Tatum as a "criminal lawyer with a major reputation in Houston" in the 1980s. Finstad said he was referred to as "the cowboy of the legal profession." She said he wore cowboy boots to court "with his blazers and shirt boldly unbuttoned to reveal a muscled, machismo chest."

DeGuerin says that lots of attorneys in the West wear cowboy boots, but he recalls Tatum showing up for a deposition wearing jeans and spurs.

Tatum had a free-wheeling reputation as a lawyer.

"He was a talented trial lawyer because he had absolutely no fear of any man or beast, but he was also mean and crazy," DeGuerin said. "He'd fight at the drop of a hat. He was always armed, and he ran with some really rough known criminals. He often had a .45 stuck in his belt."

Tatum told a number of his friends about the shooting, although in their accounts, he was shot in the chest, the buttocks or other parts of his body.

Jobeth Hines, who knew Jim Tatum in Houston, said Tatum told her that his wife had chased him with a shotgun as he ran naked down the road and shot him in the buttocks.

She said Tatum told her about this while she and her husband were contemplating a divorce in 1995.

"He advised us not to get a divorce because we made too much money," she said.

When Hines told Tatum that her husband would have to give up his girlfriend, she said Tatum replied, "Oh, honey, this is Texas. You can't make a man give up his girlfriend.

"He said, 'My wife and I were married 22 years before she shot me.' He laughed it off like it was a big joke," Hines said.

"He was the kind of a guy that would drive a woman crazy like that," she said.

Hines said she was sorry to hear about Tatum's death.

"He was a pretty colorful character," she said. "It's a shame. I really liked him a lot.

"He was just a typical Texas kind of guy, a hard-drinking two-fisted guy. There are a lot of them down here. He made his own rules."

Comments

  • December 7, 2007

    7:09 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Jim writes:

    If the facts in this article are true, Tatum was nucking futs.

  • December 7, 2007

    8:41 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Theoldguy writes:

    Jim
    The women were obviously the "moths that were attracted to the flame" type. Sometime screwballs naturally attract each other.

  • December 7, 2007

    9:23 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    fiesty writes:

    In the other thread, there were people defending Tatum left and right, stating he would "never" abuse a spouse, so the deputy must have been lying about what he witnessed. The above seems to support that Tatum had an established pattern of spousal abuse.

  • December 7, 2007

    10:22 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    hikingartist writes:

    Right off the bat, I like the fact this chump is, I mean was, from Texas. That said, they should pass a law in his wifes honor. Like the "make my day" law, it should be called the "slap my face" law. He hits her. She shoots him. Justice served, case closed.

  • December 7, 2007

    12:23 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    fiesty writes:

    hikingartist, I like the way you think. I have no respect for people who abuse spouses, children, or animals. Like rapid dogs, they should be put down, because they will simply do it again and again.

  • December 7, 2007

    6:55 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Cable writes:

    Still more to the story people. Alot more that has yet to leak im sure.

  • December 8, 2007

    7:27 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    hand writes:

    Anyone close to the Tatum's knows Ann was the aggessor.
    Both Ann and Martinez had motive.

  • December 8, 2007

    11:03 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    sherrie4fr writes:

    I've known Jimmy since Highschool. He's always been the way he was the night he was shot.
    I can't see a conspiracy here. It just doesn't seem to hold water.
    But what do I know?
    Well, for starters I also went to Highschool with Jimmy's first wife Liz. A fine woman from a wealty, upstanding, pioneer family from ElPaso.
    I know very well of the first shooting - the second shooting is of the same calibur ( pun not intended).
    Actually I know a whole lot of things but will keep them to myself. I'll let Pamela Mackey find what she needs to know and get Ann out of this. That's what she's been retained for anyway.
    I never did dislike Jimmmy, it's just that the man was always asking for trouble.It was rather obvious.

    It's a tragic ending for Jimmy but as Liz's divorce lawyer said "it's 27 years behind schedule". I agree with him.

    My user name is not because I am a woman - because i'm not - it's because of a female I once dated long ago and far away. she's still gentle on my mind.

  • December 8, 2007

    11:08 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    sherrie4fr writes:

    Alright, you say motive. They had motive.
    Jimmy had motive too.
    Go figure.

  • December 8, 2007

    4 p.m.

    Intrestedperson writes:

    (This comment was removed by the site staff.)

  • December 8, 2007

    7:15 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    hand writes:

    It's funny to hear Jim referred to as jmmy or james, I'v known jim hear in Trinidad since 1988 and no one I know call him anything but Jim.

  • December 8, 2007

    7:24 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    hand writes:

    Ann's attorny is playing a big spin game.
    Every one that has spent real time with Jim and Ann knows the story and konw Ann's motive is $$$$ and Martinez's was Ales.

  • December 9, 2007

    6:55 a.m.

    Intrestedperson writes:

    (This comment was removed by the site staff.)

  • December 9, 2007

    9:20 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Barbaratatum writes:

    Interestedperson- who are you? You obviously think you know some things, so you must’ve been around my family, but not that close, because you’re very wrong about some pretty important elements. Now that my dad’s dead, you’re still trying to make yourself feel important by acting like you know the scoop and what really went down in my family’s private life. Pathetic. Well, I witnessed the night my mom shot my dad, and you’re wrong about how that went down. My mother never abandoned us; not that night, or any other. And, to use my brother’s death as a way of slandering my mother? No wonder you use an alias; it's easy to spread hateful and damaging lies when you hide behind a fake name. My brother’s death was a tragic accident, and only an immoral and opportunistic vulture would try to imply otherwise. And, in case the username didn't clue you in- I'm Barbara Tatum, James Eddie Tatum's (yes, that's his real name) second-youngest daughter.

  • December 9, 2007

    9:23 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    hand writes:

    I believe the six daughter are from past women and Ann's daughter was from somone other then Jim.

  • December 9, 2007

    10:22 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    jackietatum writes:

    Interested person – I am Jackie Tatum, the third child born to Jim and Liz and I would love to hear from you. By this posting, I give Rocky Mountain News permission to give you my home phone number.

    I must say that I was shocked that you would bring up the tragic death of my brother and make a false and hurtful statement against my mother regarding those circumstances. I was there – I found his dead body and I can tell you that it was the single most tragic event in my tumultuous childhood. I remember every excruciating detail. I know that you were not there as no one who was, and I remember all who were, would have ever made that statement about my mother.

    You are also wrong about my mother abandoning us – she never abandoned her children and has consistently been there for us even when other adults who may have been in a position to help us were conspicuously absent. There are a few who were and we still maintain close and loving ties with those few. We, the daughters born to Liz and Jim, are extremely close to our mother to this day and this new development in our lives will not alter that.

    Our financial situation was not improved by my parents’ divorce. My mother did not take the money and run as you allege. In fact, my father paid for his stepchildren’s education and provided for their other needs, but did not do so for his own kids.

    You appear to be someone who has some knowledge of my life, but you don’t have the details correct. Since I was there for every ugly detail, for my brother’s death, my father’s first shooting, my oldest sister’s death, you may want to verify your facts before you continue spreading erroneous and hurtful rumors about my family. It says a lot about your character that you put names out there of individuals who never did anything harmful to you.

    My father’s name is James Eddie Tatum and always has been. He was the father of several children: Teddi Birkhead, born before my parents’ marriage and someone with whom I and my other sisters look forward to strengthening our relationship. The children born to Jim and Liz are Cheryl Jean Tatum, Susan Kimberly Tatum, Jackie Lynn Tatum, Stacy Lee Tatum, Gregory Eugene Tatum, Barbara Renee Tatum and Natasha Ann Tatum. Both Cheryl and Greg tragically preceded my father in death.

    Interested person – I’m calling you out as I have never had any patience for cowards.
    Give me a call if you’ve got the nerve.

  • December 9, 2007

    10:36 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    R8R_H8R writes:

    When two different women shoot the same guy, this is NOT rocket science. Let the woman out of prison NOW.

  • December 9, 2007

    12:15 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    natashatatum writes:

    Intrestedperson, I too would like to take this opportunity to call you the coward that you are. Unlike you, there are a lot of interested, innocent persons that did not ask to be put in this situation. As I see it, only two people asked to be in this situation and one is no longer here to speak for himself.

    As a child born into such dysfunction, my sisters and I have spent the better years of our adult lives trying to remove ourselves and our families from our tragic past. How dare you spread rumors and lies about my mother in an effort to make yourself look as if you are someone important!

    Intrestedperson, since you feel as if your input bears some relevance to this case, which I might add that my brother’s death does not, you should be sharing your version with the DA, not the world.

    To set the record straight, my mother never abandoned us. In fact, she did whatever she had to do to raise her six children without the help of her wealthy ex-husband. We do not know immeasurable wealth. Everything my sisters and I have accomplished has been through our own determination and self-financed education. If you are going to be presumptive enough to discuss the tragedies of my family, at least get your facts straight.

    To the rest of the world that feels the need to follow this story, my family begs you to keep in mind that there is always more than one side to every story.

  • December 9, 2007

    4:36 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    kimtatum writes:

    I want only to say, that if you are an "interestedperson" or not, I would like to express the love and pride I feel for my little sisters and my mother. I believe that despite the nasty nature of some human beings, my sisters have demonstrated that my mother raised some very strong, intelligent, loving women. I am proud and relieved to know that they are always in my court.

    We are what we are, and we have never felt the need to hide our opinions with false names.

    If you feel compelled to dwell upon our tragedies, please be courteous enough to get your information correct before expressing it.

  • December 10, 2007

    1:08 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Jo_Ella writes:

    Hang in there kids...it's going to be rough but you have plenty of support in Trinidad...gossip is rampant in tragedies like this. Give your mother lots of love, she has suffered enough. Try to remember the good times with your dad and find a place to bury the bad memories.

  • December 10, 2007

    9:02 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    sherrie4fr writes:

    JO_Ella:
    What a beautiful thing to say to Liz Tatums daughters. I applaud you and I certainly applaud the daughters - all of them.

    A more elegant, lovely woman there isn't. She and her sister are both standouts in my life and i've always had nothing but love and respect for both of them.

    I feel the daughters all must carry their mothers quality of personality, charm , goodness, and dignity.

    My heart goes out to all of them and certainly including Liz.

  • December 10, 2007

    1:53 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    TruthBeTold writes:

    M.H. aka Intrestedperson, I think it would be fair to point the readers here to your statements at:

    http://www.topix.net/forum/news/viole...

    where you have posted as FriendofJims - I find it interesting that you apologize for the statements regarding Liz and the girls - yet have not said anything here - so I feel, as I said, it is only fair to give the readers a full understanding of your comments.

    I commend the Tatum Daughters & Liz for all they have had to already endure and to think it is really just getting started...

    Like Natasha said - there are always two sides to the story.

    Truly a friend - Keri

  • December 10, 2007

    9:19 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    jackietatum writes:

    Keri,

    I know this wasn't your goal, but we really don't want anyone reading the false and hurtful statements made by MH. We have successfully had them removed from this and other websites and are working on the others. That being said, I have requested that your comments be removed so that more people don't read the ugly things she said. We do appreciate your support, though.

  • December 15, 2007

    9:49 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Sammy writes:

    I have known Elizabeth (Liz) since the early 80's. We became close friends; I saw this beautiful LADY being expected to associate with the scum of the earth, that Jim would invite to their ranch in Texas. I watched this loving and caring mother meet every need of her girls. I never saw her act in any way other than a wonderful person.
    After her divorce she raised what has become five wonderful daughters with NO help from Jim.
    Today Elizabeth is still a loving and caring mother and grandmother and does disserve these horrible statements made about her.

  • December 15, 2007

    2:27 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Sammy writes:

    Correction on previous statement Elezibeth DOESN"T disserve these horrible statements made about her, and is still a wonderful LADY today.