KDKA Investigates: Loved Ones Of Woman Gunned Down By Ex Question Protection From Abuse Orders
BELLEVUE, Pa. (KDKA) - A local woman pleaded for help, but friends and family of 28-year-old Rachel Dowden say the system failed her, just like so many others. Now they're asking: What's the point of PFAs?
Dowden's loved ones say she fought to keep her ex-boyfriend away from her, but he still ended up tracking her down and killing her, according to police.
KDKA Investigator Meghan Schiller talked exclusively with Dowden's boss, and learned she spent her final days begging for help to save her life.
As she left for work on Jan. 19 at the Bellevue Cricket store, Dowden thought she had the law on her side.
"We talked about this every day, like my store is a big family," said Brandy Perhach, Dowden's friend and boss. "There was like, really no secrets in here. We discuss everything. So, we all knew about it."
Perhach said her coworker and friend spent the final days of her life frequently on the phone with police, pleading with them to find her ex-boyfriend and arrest him.
"I feel like nobody really thinks that stuff is serious until something happens, but it was towards the end, it was more serious," said Perhach.
Dowden filed a protection from abuse order against DeAngelo Zieglar in February 2020, telling the judge, "I'm afraid he will find me and cause harm physically or kill myself and my mother. He is very emotionally unstable."
Two years later, that fear came true.
Police say Zieglar called the Cricket store that day and asked what time it closed. Then, as Dowden walked down Lincoln Avenue to her bus stop after work, police say Zieglar was there waiting. Police say he shot her with her own gun -- a gun she'd bought to protect herself from him, a gun that he'd allegedly stolen from her home during a recent break-in.
"I feel like a lot of these women get forgotten about and I don't want her to be forgotten about. I want this to mean something. I hope it opens people's eyes," said Perhach.
She's talked about a GoFundMe that Dowden wrote herself. In it, the 28-year-old mother of two outlined her dreams for a fresh start, free from Zieglar. She needed money to make it happen, but she never posted it, worried it would only anger Zieglar more.
"I read it all. We sat here at the table, and we went over it and I thought it sounded good and I told her to post it," said Perhach. "Rae was just scared no one was going to want to help her. Yeah, she was definitely nervous that he would find out."
Dowden's not the first victim and she won't be the last. Her alleged murderer violated the PFA multiple times, according to court records KDKA obtained. The same thing happened in Oakland several years ago to college student Alina Sheykhet. Legislation hoping to fix the shortfalls of PFAs bears her name, called Alina's Law. But lawmakers tell KDKA's Meghan Schiller it's stuck in legislative purgatory.
"That there's no steam and nothing behind these bills is just amazing to me," said state Rep. Anita Kulik.
Years after she first introduced it, Kulik's still pushing for the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee to vote on or even talk about Alina's Law.
"What it would do is enable a judge who is hearing a PFA case to say, 'I think that this defendant is not going to abide by the PFA.'" said Rep. Kulik.
It aims to help those victims whose abusers don't care about a piece of paper.
"This would allow a judge to say, 'I think this is going to happen,' and they put electronic monitoring on so it gives the victim a fighting chance of getting somewhere safe if it's detected that that person is in the area close to the victim where they should not be," said Rep. Kulik.
KDKA's Meghan Schiller asked: "These are local women who are being murdered, yet the issue is not on the priority list when you go to Harrisburg?"
"It's very frustrating," said Rep. Kulik. "How many bodies are going to stack up before we say it's time?"
By all accounts, Dowden did everything right. She called police, she got a PFA and she reported Zieglar's alleged threats. But it still wasn't enough. So now her family and friends are left to reflect on what Dowden's life could have been.
"She was very energetic, full of love, and a jokester. She had dreams that wasn't just about being a mom and a Cricket person. She wanted to start her own business. She wanted to do a lot of things," said Perhach.
There is now bipartisan support in the state House for Alina's Law. Mihalik is now backing the legislation, and she's working with Kulik to get more lawmakers on board. Meanwhile, the state Senate previously passed it, calling the legislation a "no brainer".
As for Dowden's GoFundMe, Perhach decided to go ahead and post it after Dowden died to help raise money for her children's care.