A UT dental student who was shot and killed by her husband reportedly took desperate measures to escape her abusive relationship, to no avail.

The women’s shelter where Mina Eames took refuge said Thursday that her actions are usually enough to prevent tragedy.

Eames’s husband, Clifton, killed her as she exited a campus bus on Monday.

Clifton died later in a shootout with police at St. Mark’s Church.

Trouble with the couple started brewing back in June when Mina went to the Montgomery County Women’s Shelter for help.

“Her husband had taken their two children and fled to a different state with them.  And he had left her a message that he would deal with her when he returned,” Debi Smith, who works at the shelter, said. “I actually said to her, validating to her that her circumstances were such, that I believed, based on her information, that he would kill her.”

“She made the phone calls, she went to the shelter, she filed the reports, she found an attorney,” Mina’s cousin, Shelli Stewart, said.

Experts say the steps Mina took were right for a woman in a mentally or physically abusive relationship.

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Mina Eames

It’s just very rare when a case ends like this one.

Mina’s family said Thursday that funeral arrangements have been made.  The viewing will be Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at the McCoy & Harrison Funeral Home on MLK Blvd.  The service will be held the same day at 1:30 p.m.

If you are a woman thinking about getting out of an abusive relationship, you can call the domestic violence hotline at 713-528-2121 for help.