Tracy Mondabough Ottumwa, Iowa woman stabbed to death by boyfriend’s estranged wife, Michelle Lee Boat of Pella. Suspect repeatedly violated a no-contact order.
An Iowa woman has been arrested for allegedly murdering her estranged husband’s new girlfriend.
On Monday, May 18, the Pella Police Department responded to reports of a domestic disturbance according to a release. When they arrived at the scene, they found Tracy Mondabough, 46, of Ottumwa lying injured inside a vehicle. The victim was observed having stab wounds to the chest and lacerations on her hands.
Police officers had tried to perform life-saving measures but could not revive Tracy who was pronounced dead. Later on Monday, Michelle Lee Boat, 55, of Pella was arrested and charged with a violation of a no-contact order which she’d done several times. The next day, her charges were amended to include one count of murder in the first degree the Des Moines Register reports.
A criminal complaint revealed that Boat has been estranged from her husband of 20 years, Nicholas Boat, who had started dating Tracy. The married couple separated in March, KCCI reports.
The complaint also revealed how on the night of the alleged murder, neighbors had heard an argument outside the apartment complex where Tracy was found dead. A witness also reported hearing someone say, ‘He don’t belong to you,’ before fleeing the scene in a grey Cadillac.
The victim was found slumped over a car with stab wounds at around 8.20 pm in the 100 block of Glenwood Street in Pella.
Incriminating evidence implicated Pella woman
Authorities were also able to find blood on a car that had been parked outside Michelle Boat‘s house. When the police and investigators tracked the car, they found that it was still warm. Boat had answered the doorbell in a towel which indicated that she had just taken a shower. When authorities checked the toilet in her home, they found what appeared to be a pair of bloodied rubber gloves.
Police found incriminating evidence which includes the contents of her washing machine which contained one outfit.
Boat has also been caught on video following the victim both into and out of the Vermeer parking lot. Authorities described Boat having visited her former husband’s job at Vermeer Corporation less than an hour before the alleged murder.
Estranged wife conceded to violently beating husband in March
Court records revealed Nicholas and Tracy telling police that Boat would often follow them around town and had even assaulted Nicholas, based on multiple complaints filed this year. Tracy also told the Ottumwa police in March that she had been scared after Boat followed her around 40 miles from Pella to Ottumwa. She was that fearful, that she had even requested the police to meet her at a gas station.
Of note, on March 22, Boat was charged with domestic violence after admitting to repeatedly hitting Nicholas and leaving the man bruised. Michelle Boat had never been accused of any crime outside of traffic tickets before March 22, according to court records.
Boat is being held on a $2 million bond at Marion County Jail and is due in court on May 28. A hearing for domestic abuse, harassment and no-contact violation cases has been scheduled for June 2.
