Wife Shot by Mistress Waits 48 Minutes for Ambulance After 911 Call
Nov. 19 -- The last words that Patti Godfrey heard before her husband's mistress started shooting at her were "I'll see you in hell."
That was just the start of a story that ended with two dead bodies, and a staggering 48-minute 911 call — the longest 48 minutes of Godfrey's life.
Karen Brand, a woman who had been Glenn Godfrey's mistress, was angry that he had ended the affair to get back together with his wife after the two had been separated. She hid in the Godfrey home, then jumped into view, shooting Glenn Godfrey and Patti before turning the gun on herself.
Patti Godfrey survived the attack and was able to call 911. But because of a computer glitch, it took dispatchers nearly an hour to find her as she lay bleeding from multiple gun shot wounds, nearly dead in her Eagle River, Alaska, home.
Godfrey had been shot four times with a .44-caliber Magnum handgun with hollowpoint bullets, designed to fragment. In spite of her injuries, and her long wait for help, Godfrey survived.
Her son, Gerad Godfrey, told Good Morning America that his mother has already been through two surgeries to repair the damage.
"She has a bullet fragment in her hip and her colon has to be replaced," he said.
Classic Love Triangle
The tragedy that took place on Aug. 3 began with a classic love triangle. Glenn Godfrey was 53, the just-retired "top cop" of Alaska's State Troopers. He had been married to his wife, Patti, for 35 years.
Glenn's mistress was Karen Brand, who was 20 years his junior, and a vice president of Alaska's Chamber of Commerce. She was angered by the break-up of their love affair, which Glenn had later told Patti about.
Police believe that Brand broke into the Godfrey home several days before the murders and took Glenn Godfrey's gun from its case. On the day of the killings, she had left a message on the Godfreys' machine, suggesting that their relationship was still continuing and that Patti "not be kept in the dark any longer."
She was hiding in the closet when the couple got home and heard the message.
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