Dallas medical examiner killed in murder-suicide at county office – Law Officer

DALLAS – Law enforcement authorities responded Tuesday to reports of an active shooter at the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office. By the time they rendered the scene safe, they discovered a murder-suicide, Law Officer previously reported. Now authorities have identified the murder victim as 46-year-old Beth Ellen Frost. She worked as a medical examiner and was reportedly shot and killed by her estranged husband, 51-year-old James Edward Frost II, according to reports.

James, who goes by “Jed” is believed to have shot his wife and another unnamed employee at the office before killing himself about 4:45 p.m., Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said. The second shooting victim was not identified and the person’s medical condition was not immediately disclosed, the Dallas Morning News reported. 

County Commissioner John Wiley Price said investigators are trying to determine how Jed got into the building through an employee entrance.

“You can have the best security in the world, and you can’t stop people who are determined whatever evil they are going to carry out,” Price told Fox 4 News.

“He could’ve sat in the parking lot and done the same thing. He knew where she worked,” he added.

James “Jed” Edward Frost, a businessman and former University of Missouri basketball player, is believed to have committed the murder-suicide amid financial difficulties. (Frost Bags via New York Post)

Beth received her osteopathic medical degree from Kansas City University in 2012. She had been with the Dallas office as a medical examiner since June 2020, according to her LinkedIn profile. She was the office’s forensic pathology fellow from 2016 to 2017.

Jed was a former college basketball player at the University of Missouri in the 1990s. After college he became a teacher and basketball coach at Odessa and Park Hill South high schools near Kansas City, eventually coaching at Iowa State University and the University of Hawaii, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Later Jed worked as an insurance and financial representative, before launching a luxury leather bag business called FROST, with items ranging in price from $5,000 to $75,000, according to the news outlet.

The Frost’s had been married since July 2001 and had two children together — a 9-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy, according to court records cited by the Dallas Morning News.

Beth and Jed had been married since July 2001 and had two children together — a 9-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy. (Dr. Beth Frost Memorial Fund)

However, Beth filed for divorce on May 2, according to the records, saying the marriage had become “insupportable because of discord or conflict of personalities between Beth and Jed that destroys the legitimate ends of the marriage relationship and prevents any reasonable expectation of reconciliation.”

The divorce process appeared amicable as Beth didn’t request a protective order or sole custody of the kids. But obviously it was not. A child custody evaluation was ordered in early October, the Morning News reported, citing the records.

Beth reportedly believed James would enter into agreements to give both access to their children and their estate, which was in the midst of financial difficulties with Jed’s father, the New York Post reported.

James Frost Sr. filed a lawsuit against the couple in August alleging that they failed to repay $228,916 he had loaned them.

According to the Dallas Morning News, citing a recent court filing, Beth denied Frost Sr.’s allegations and requested that the civil action be consolidated into their divorce case.