I'm pel's County Sheriff Bob Walter and we're here this afternoon to uh announce an arrest in a uh second deegree murder case that occurred this past Saturday night March 7th uh deputies were called to 2601 First Street in Indian Rocks Beach uh shortly after 10:00 last Saturday night and as a result of the investigation um the victim who is known as JJ rush or John Joseph Rush um was shot and killed uh by his former wife uh Cara Ryan she's a white female date of birth is 101 of 69 and what we know about um Cara and JJ is the following um they were married in 1997 uh they divorced 9 years later in 2006 uh they got back together again in 2007 and remained in an on andof relationship um until they separated again uh in February of this year about February 15th was when they separated uh Ryan is a teacher at clwater high school she's been a teacher there since 2019 and has been a teacher for about 24 years uh JJ was a retire retired St Petersburg Police Sergeant uh he retired in 2005 and he was last assigned to the forensics unit at the St Petersburg Police Department um we also know that um JJ was previously married uh to Sher triy for three years from 1990 until about 1994 together they had um a 21-year-old daughter Megan and well we all also have learned through the investigation is is that uh Cara Ryan and Sher tribby and JJ all went to high school together and that there was some ongoing relationship between the three of them um since that time so the relationship uh between the defendant in this case Cara Ryan and JJ Rush um appeared to be one where there was very significant uh control by Cara Ryan over J and some examples that we've learned uh throughout the investigation are that JJ was not allowed to have his own bank account all monies he W he earned went into an account that was fully controlled by Cara Ryan if he went out to launch he had to turn a receipt into her showing her what he spent that money on uh he recently went to purchase a dress for his daughter for a job interview and this was after he had left Karen and and he was so ecstatic about it because he was finally allowed to spend money on something he wanted to spend money on and on his family and didn't have to report it back to her uh he also went out recently and purchased a computer uh because she wouldn't let him have a computer so the relationship we between them was a very domineering dominant and controlling relationship by Karen over JJ and he had recently as evidence by moving out on February 15th uh expressed uh his reluctance to submit to that dominance and and and he was exhibiting his independence um two days before uh the homicide occurred on Saturday is that Cara learned that JJ had taken her off of his bank account so she no longer had access to those bank accounts and uh by all accounts that she was upset uh over that and upset over the fact that he was now exerting his independence and was uh moving moving on and moving away from her so on Saturday night uh JJ received a text uh from Cara on his cell phone the text was uh sexual in nature and it was inviting him uh to come over to our apartment uh we know that he did arrive there at the apartment uh in Indian Rocks Beach uh on First Street and we know through uh the investigation which includes uh many statements and a variety of capacities that Cara Ryan made um and others that we interviewed that when JJ arrived there uh he went inside and was engaged in some form of activity with Cara um something happened where there was another text message that was received from uh by Cara from someone else it was another male and that um that she was having a relationship with and at that point um something happened where JJ became aware of that and this is where it starts going in about a 100 different directions and initially uh what Cara Ryan told us initially was is that um after that happened is that um and she was involved in some sort of a sex act with JJ that uh he became upset and he began to rape her um and it was a very violent rape um based upon the evidence based upon the investigation and based upon the totality of circumstances I don't think the evidence will show that that happened at all in fact that she was lying and that she made that up um she also told us um a different version and the the second version was that um an argument ensued that JJ left um got in his truck and left the area and then a short while later she's laying in bed asleep or getting ready to go to sleep and some unknown Intruder uh came into her apartment and all she saw was this hand and when she saw the hand she took out her 38 caliber pistol that she had next to her bed and she shot and she didn't know who she shot then another version that we got from her uh was that uh JJ came back and she knew it was JJ and when he came into the apartment um that she knew it was him and that because he was upset is that she shot him and he didn't have a chance so there were many different versions uh that Carol Ryan told of the events that occurred last Saturday night and she told this these to our detectives and investigators she told others uh during a series of phone calls that we are able to listen to over the last several days and at the end of the day is is that um we know that Carol Ryan uh shot uh JJ Rush uh we know that after uh he was shot that he left the apartment he went to a Nextdoor neighbor's apartment told the next door neighbor that he had been shot and asked the neighbor to call 911 um he then collapsed and died there on the porch of the neighbor's residence we know that when he collapsed that he was fully clothed um he had boots on that were laced his pants were up his Zipper was up his belt was buckled and there's absolutely no evidence whatsoever of any type of a sexual assault um so when the deputies got there again they first interviewed Ryan and immediately she began to G to give a series of very conflicting statements as to what happened and because of those conflicting statements and uh the subsequent phone calls that we were able to listen to and information we received from others is is that what we believe the evidence will show is is that she was extremely upset about losing control over JJ and uh got him to come over there uh last Saturday night uh by sending him this explicit text message and that uh she shot him and when she shot him is she shot him through the left arm uh it went into his chest and into his heart uh the bullet was found in in the stomach cavity uh she shot him one time and then he stumbled out and went to the neighbor's house which is where he died so we believe this is a domestic related homicide uh and that Cara Ryan was acting out because she was losing control over him she knew she was losing control over him and that he was exerting this uh Independence and all these different versions of events and all these stories and concocted nonsense that she's come up with in the last few days just that um and she killed them U so uh that's it's it's a complex investigation uh and kind of a convol Ed investigation because of all of the different stories Cara Ryan told during the last few days at least 10 different versions of what happened last Saturday night so the only things that um that we know with 100% certainty is is that JJ Rush was shot by Carol rine and there's no evidence uh to Su to suggest at this point that a sexual battery occurred and we know that you can't have it multiple ways you can't have it where I shot and killed him because he's standing on top of me he's straddling me he's penetrating me and he's sexually battering me and then it s whoops wait a minute okay it's not that is I was laying in bed asleep and I see this guy come through the door and I see this hand and I was scared so I reached out and shot and I didn't know who it was and then then she realizes she says well I I thought it was JJ but did she say oh JJ sit down oh let me help you no he runs out and then she delays calling 911 for several minutes and then the next version of events is that well it wasn't a rape and it wasn't a stranger and I knew it was him and he was coming through the door and I shot him so again you know she's lied several times and told you know many different versions of of the events that happened last Saturday night so um with that uh any questions that you all have yeah do you believe that it was a premeditated act mean that she asked him over there to kill him or do you believe that it was argument well I think it's an argument we charged we've charged her with second deegree murder um and we believe that that that's what the evidence shows at this point uh further investigation will be conducted uh by the state attorney's office and by our investigators uh if it warrants changing those charges based upon subsequent investigation that'll be a decision the state attorney makes so we have not charged it at this point um as a first degree murder we've charged it as a second degree murder so that would be an argument or something happened inside correct correct but not correct you guys think she could be suffer from any kind of that she's making up all these different versions you know there's no evidence of that there's no evidence of any uh mental illness or behavioral health issues and there's no evidence that one of the things is that uh so we get this all out here now because it will come out is is that the U text message that she received so as I mentioned to you so she's in the house with JJ uh shortly after 10:00 she did get a textt message and it was sexual in nature from somebody else and the somebody else is a detention Sergeant Scott holder bomb who works for the penel county sheriff's office so she had a relationship with Sergeant holder bomb as well and that'll come out so let's just get that out now and so that it's out on the table um doesn't mean anything is that she was divorced they were separated uh holder bomb had a relationship with her and she knew a lot of cops um and she was um somebody who um uh frequented frequented events where cops went and JJ was a cop for 15 years so there there's nothing you know unusual about that is that she had relationships apparently with with law enforcement and walked in law enforcement circles was he getting a pension or disability that she was kind of knew that that was a monthly payment that she wanted your hands on well what I from what I understand he and he was currently employed as an investigator at the medical examiner's office as well as he had pension from the St Pete Police Department um she from what we know and what we've learned had a definite interest in this bank account and had a definite interest in his money and what he was spending and how he was spending it and dominated him and controlled him about his spending to the point where the man couldn't even buy a computer uh to the point where he had to turn in receipts when he went to lunch so um I'd say that she had a a real interest and then again he cut her off from that bank account and she learned of that two days before the shooting um and you know from what others have told us is that he felt Freedom he felt ecstatic he felt relieved from the pressure because he was actually able to go out and live his life where did she get the gun from her gun registered to her was it we don't know you know again here in Florida you know there's no registration of guns so it was a 38 caliber handgun uh she had it there in the bedroom it was uh when we found it it was sitting on the nightstand next to the bed did she clense sh in that last version told you know so it's one version is is that he's straddling me he's on top of me he's raping me he's penetrating me and I shot him while he was raping me the next version is is I saw a hand and I just shot so and then the other version is is that I knew it was JJ and I shot him so you know uh it depends upon what the flavor of the moment was is that you know uh no because again she doesn't tell the truth she's you know told at least 10 different version of versions of this over the last several days to a variety of different people including us so you know again in in in her story there's a lot of inconsistency the physical evidence the physical evidence is inconsistent with her version of events and the physical evidence I'm not going to get into all the details of it now but U even the location where he was shot in his left arm going into the left side of his chest as to how she says it happened U it couldn't happen that way so there's a lot of inconsistencies in her statements and there's a lot of inconsistencies between what she says happened in the physical evidence as well does she admit that she invited over there initially yes yes she does you know which raises the question you know is the you know why and again from what we can tell again she learned just two days before that um he cut her off on the bank account and you know you got somebody that was very control when she was upset that he was exerting his independence and it finally got out from underneath her all right anybody have anything else okay all right thanks