SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) - A 37-year-old woman found dead in a house fire was in court the day before her death seeking protection from abuse.
Kelly Lawler died Saturday in what authorities are calling a suspicious house fire south of Springfield.
The Springfield News-Leader reports (http://bit.ly/pIN1wR) that Lawler was in Greene County Court on Friday working out details of a protection from abuse request she filed two weeks ago.
The man had also filed a protection from abuse order against Lawler, alleging she was physically abusive. The man's protection order request was denied but Lawler's order was granted.
An attorney for the man from whom Lawler sought protection says he had nothing to do with the fire.
Police have not identified any suspects or released a cause of Lawler's death.
Information from: Springfield News-Leader, http://www.news-leader.com