Beloved teacher Jamie Felix kidnapped, fatally shot by estranged husband in front of kids before turning gun on himself: cops

A beloved Florida teacher was kidnapped by her ex-husband and shot to death in front of their children before turning the gun on himself as police closed in.

First responders found Jamie Felix’s children, aged 10 and 17 – unharmed – sitting with their mother, who died at the scene.

Felix was a 45-year-old teacher at Manatee Academy Elementary and Middle School in Port St. Lucie, where she was crowned “Teacher of the Year,” according to the school’s social media posts.

“Jamie Bukoski Felix is ​​a beautiful soul who will live forever in the hearts of those who love her. She loved her children more than words can express,” her friend wrote in a tribute message on Facebook. “She was incredibly brave and resilient. She had an incredibly contagious laugh, especially when something delighted her.

Felix and her ex-husband, Ray Felix, 60, were going through a messy divorce that reportedly included previous incidents of domestic violence, before she was killed Friday night.

Ray was armed and in disguise when he sneaked up on Jamie and the children in a commercial parking lot in Port St. Lucie around 4 p.m., forced everyone into his rental car and sent an “email suspicious to his colleagues,” said Acting Police Chief Richard Del. Toro said at a press conference.

“My understanding is that the email basically stated that she lied about the domestic violence incident, which we know to be false,” Del Toro said.

His colleagues reported the email to the police around 6:30 p.m., but the situation had already spiraled out of control.

At that point, Ray forced his 17-year-old son into his rental car and made him follow his mother’s SUV, which was heading south to West Palm Beach.

Jamie was driving the SUV with a gun pointed at his head, police said, while their 10-year-old son was in the back seat.

They eventually stopped and parked in a parking lot near a hotel for “unknown reasons,” West Palm Beach police spokesman Mike Jachles told local newspaper TCPalm on Saturday.

Ray and Jamie got out of the SUV and Ray fired several shots at his wife.

The children saw their mother collapse to the ground, while their father sped off in the rental car.

It was around 7:30 p.m. when West Palm Beach police were inundated with 911 calls.

Jamie was pronounced dead at the scene and responding officers found Ray about a quarter mile from the rental agency after returning the car.

As officers approached, Ray shot himself, Jachles said. “No officers fired any shots or anything. . . . He seemed focused on one thing, and it was costing him his life.

Tributes to Jamie flood social media

Family, friends, colleagues and students – past and present – ​​wrote tributes to the late teacher on social media and her obituary.

A local Facebook group called Slscanner, which stressed that it does not post videos, photos and tributes without consent, shared this video of Jamie’s students surprising their teacher.

Jamie was known for her love of University of Michigan sports and was a basketball coach, according to her obituary.

“She was sincerely grateful for every kindness she received, she was brilliant but humble (she had absolutely no idea how talented and beautiful she was),” Monica Jackman wrote on Facebook.

“She was fun, funny and witty and could make me cry with laughter, she was compassionate, she was loyal and dedicated, she was a girl who uplifted her friends at every opportunity.”