Frantic 911 call made by wife of fatally wounded veteran Indiana firefighter is released

Elizabeth Fox-Doerr was later charged with obstruction of justice.

March 19, 2019, 5:59 PM

Police in Indiana have released a 911 call made by a woman who found her veteran firefighter husband gunned down outside their home -- two weeks after she was charged with obstructing the investigation.

In the 911 call released by the Evansville-Vanderburgh Dispatch on Monday, victim Rob Doerr's wife, Elizabeth Fox-Doerr, can be heard recounting to a dispatcher how she had just discovered him lying in their driveway, after hearing gunshots.

"My husband just got shot," she says to the 911 dispatcher.

Fox-Doerr tells the 911 dispatcher that she saw the headlights from Doerr's car as he pulled into the driveway and "then I heard a bunch of popping."

"I went to the front door and I didn't see anything," she says. "I went to the side door and came out and saw my husband just laying there. Please hurry."

She then tells the dispatcher she did not see anyone outside besides her husband.

"I did not see a car. I did not see a person. The only person I saw was my husband laying on the ground," Fox-Doerr says on the call.

Doerr had almost 28 years of service with the Evansville Fire Department, police said.

In an unusual twist for a murder investigation, however, on March 5 -- after Doerr had been laid to rest -- Evansville police announced that Fox-Doerr had been arrested and charged with obstruction of justice. A charge of misdemeanor false informing was later added.

"The charges she's facing [are] for deleting a phone call on her phone and then not being honest with investigators when questioned about it," Evansville Police Sgt. Jason Cullum said at the news conference March 6. "She is not listed as a suspect in the homicide. She is not listed as a suspect in any other activity."

Police told ABC News Tuesday that she had received a cellphone call before her husband's slaying -- and hearing the gun pops and calling 911 -- and subsequently deleted the call. Police said they did not know when the call was deleted or who placed the call.

Doerr made her first court appearance March 6. She was released from jail about a week ago on $3,000 cash bond, police said.

The state of Indiana entered a plea of not guilty for her.

Investigators were following up on provided information regarding leads but did not have a motive, police said.

Police said they have not publicly identified a person of interest or a suspect. Cullum said police were still in the "information-gathering process."