He grabbed her throat during an argument. He let go when kids screamed, Euless police say

A Euless man suspected in a double-slaying last week had been accused of strangling his ex-girlfriend and grabbing her throat during an argument in front of her kids in 2016.

Paige Lawyer grabbed O'Tishae Womack's throat a second time during that December 2016 argument and pushed her back, according to complaints made to Euless police.

It was the second time in 2016 that Euless police responded to domestic violence involving the pair. He was issued a citation after the first case and sent to an anger management program after the other.

Lawyer, 38, was charged three more times for allegedly abusing his girlfriend last year in Fort Worth.

He's accused of capital murder in the slayings of Womack and her 10-year-old daughter. Their bodies were discovered Friday afternoon inside their east Fort Worth apartment.

The child, Kamyria, was found Friday afternoon in a bedroom. Her mother was found in the kitchen. Both died of strangulation, according to rulings by the Tarrant County medical examiner's office.

Lawyer fled Tarrant County but was caught Sunday in Murfreesboro, Tenn., just outside Nashville. He remained in jailed Tuesday awaiting extradition.

Euless police reports provided these details in the 2016 cases:

• Lawyer and Womack began dating in the summer of 2016, and she later moved in with him, along with her three children from a previous relationship.
  
  
• On Oct. 4, 2016, Euless police responded to a disturbance at the apartment. Womack told police that she and Lawyer got into an argument after she threw his cellphone into the kitchen when she found out he was texting his ex-wife.
  
  
• Womack walked into a bedroom and closed the door. She walked into the living room where he slapped her and tried to put his hands around her neck.

Lawyer claimed there was no assault, just an argument. He was arrested, fined $517 and ordered to attend 12 hours of anger management.

On Dec. 11, 2016, the couple got into another argument, prompting Lawyer to ask Womack to leave his apartment. Womack tried using her cellphone to call for a ride, but Lawyer snatched it away, believing she was calling police.

Lawyer also grabbed her throat, but he let go when the children started screaming, according to the police report. He grabbed her throat again when she started to call police.

A few hours later, police returned when Womack reported that Lawyer had broken a glass window. Officers located Lawyer and took him to a nearby hospital for cuts on his arm.

Because Womack was moving out of the apartment, police released Lawyer after issuing him a citation for assault-family violence.

On Jan. 6, 2017, a victims assistance brochure was sent to Womack, according to a police report.

According to court records, Lawyer was accused of choking Womack on Jan. 8, 2017, in Fort Worth.

Womack later went to the Tarrant County district attorney's office and signed an affidavit of nonprosecution, asking that the assault case be dismissed. He was sentenced to 18 months' deferred adjudication probation.

Lawyer was charged twice more with assaulting Womack last year, and she again attempted to have the charges dismissed, according to court records. She asserted that Womack was mentally ill and was filing false police reports in retaliation for his wanting to end their relationship.

The two assault cases were pending against Lawyer at the time he was accused of killing Womack and her daughter.

This report includes material from the Star-Telegram archives.

This story was originally published April 10, 2018 at 1:37 PM with the headline "He grabbed her throat during an argument. He let go when kids screamed, Euless police say."