Left: Wendy Ralston. Right: Destynee Cheshire. (Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office)
An Alabama mother and daughter are in legal hot water after the daughter repeatedly shot the mother’s secret lover — prompting the mother to try a cover-up and file a false domestic violence report against the man, who also happens to be her ex-husband, police say.
Daughter Destynee Cheshire, 24, stands accused of one felony count of assault in the first degree. Mother Wendy Ralston, 46, stands accused of one felony count of first-degree assault and one misdemeanor count of false reporting to law enforcement.
The underlying incidents that led to the alleged violence are currently unknown — but likely stretch back further than last week.
The incident that inspired the law enforcement response, however, occurred on Feb. 6, at Ralston’s home on Pattiway Drive in Alexandria, a small, census-designated place roughly an hour east of Birmingham.
On the day in question, Ralston and Cheshire went to the residence, according to the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office, Birmingham-based NBC affiliate WVTM reports. While inside her mother’s home, Cheshire allegedly kicked down a locked bedroom door and then shot Scott Ingram, 47, three times with a 9 mm handgun — once in the arm, once in the leg, and once in the stomach.
The victim survived and was taken to a nearby hospital.
Deputies arrived, and Ralston allegedly told a tall tale about Ingram violating a protective order and attacking her earlier in the day at her home. The mother said she eventually escaped the man’s clutches but decided not to initially report his alleged violence and violation of the court order — because, she said, law enforcement had not acted on her allegations in the past. Instead, Ralston said, she decided to just return home a bit later with her daughter. And, when the two were there, Ralston allegedly said, Ingram tried to break in — and got shot.
An investigation, however, allegedly belied Ralston’s claims.
Investigators searched the mother’s cellphone and revealed a series of incriminating text messages, the sheriff’s office claims, Birmingham-based Fox affiliate WBRC reports. In one such message, Ingram allegedly tells Ralston he feels like he is being “set up.”
As it turned out, Ingram had been allowed inside the residence by Ralston in violation of the protective order, law enforcement alleges. And Ralston allegedly knew Ingram would be there when she returned.
Ralston also allegedly made a series of “detrimental allegations” about Ingram to multiple people, including her daughter, the sheriff’s office claims. Those comments allegedly riled Cheshire up to the point that she went on the hunt for Ingram and, in the end, shot him.
And, rather than being frustrated by a lack of law enforcement action, Ralston never complained about Ingram violating the court order because of the “secret relationship” she had maintained with the man for an indeterminate amount of time as of this writing — a relationship Ralston even kept hidden from her own daughter, according to Calhoun County Sheriff Matthew Wade.
“As Sheriff, I take great caution in arresting anyone claiming to be a victim of domestic violence,” Wade said in comments reported by WBRC. “However, the facts discovered in this investigation are clear and overwhelmingly proves that Ralston has lied manipulating the system for her personal benefit. In addition, her lies has caused the physical injury to Scott Ingram and caused him to be accused in our criminal justice system. Ralston’s actions are offensive to the true victims of domestic violence and law enforcement.”
The mother-daughter duo were arrested on the night of Monday, Feb. 12. Calhoun County jail records show Ralston is being detained on a combined $18,000 bond. Cheshire appears to have since bonded out.
