Shooting Victim was Denied Order of Protection Weeks Before Alleged Homicide

A Kalispell woman who was shot and critically injured when her ex-partner and employer, the longtime local attorney Garry Seaman, allegedly gunned her down at a Libby-area campground in May was denied a temporary order of protection by a Flathead County judge less than a month prior to the shooting, which left another man dead, according to court records.

Seaman, 63, has pleaded not guilty to felony charges of deliberate homicide and attempted deliberate homicide after prosecutors allege he went on a jealous rampage, following the female victim and her male companion to a Libby-area campground and shooting them both multiple times. Seaman has also pleaded not guilty to a felony count of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. His pleadings were entered at a June 6 arraignment hearing in Lincoln County District Court before Judge Matthew Cuffe.

As of June 3, the female victim remained in the Intensive Care Unit at Logan Health in Kalispell, where a judge granted her mother a temporary guardianship and conservatorship over her daughter, who was declared “an incapacitated person,” according to a petition.

Due to the victim’s injuries, the petition states she is “unable to take care of herself, her properties or her affairs,” according to the petition, and she was “the victim of a recent, violent attack in which she suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the abdomen, both arms, right hand, right leg, buttocks, and face.”

The petition for conservatorship provides a clearer picture of the extent of the victim’s life-threatening injuries, while other legal documents obtained by the Beacon reveal the woman’s unsuccessful efforts to obtain a temporary order of protection against Seaman weeks before the deadly shooting.

On April 25, the victim submitted a petition for a temporary order of protection in Flathead County Justice Court after she ended a 15-year relationship with Seaman, according to the documents, writing that he was heavily armed, stalking her, tracking her cell phone, and that she did “not feel safe anywhere near him.” The same day, Flathead County Justice of the Peace Paul Sullivan denied the victim’s petition for a temporary order of protection. The denial notice stated that “the information submitted does not support the conclusion that you are in danger and that the circumstances require the court to act without notice to the other party.”

According to the woman’s statement in the petition, she believed she was in danger and that she had been the victim of stalking. She also stated in the petition that she worked with Seaman for 28 years at Seaman Law Firm in Kalispell, and that he fired her “for refusing to take him back.” The petition states that she recently ended a long-term relationship with Seaman “mostly due to verbal and mental abuse for years.”

Following her decision to break off their relationship, the petition states that Seaman began harassing her and, on April 25, “blew up” and kicked her out of their home, refusing to let her take any belongings with her. The victim fled the home, picked up a son she and Seaman had together and did not return home. Immediately after the incident, she requested civil-standby assistance from the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office.

Describing the extent of Seaman’s stalking behavior in the petition, the victim stated that, while driving last winter, she received repeated alerts on her phone regarding a tracking device, which her son explained was due to Seaman’s attempts to follow her while she looked at homes to rent, records state. It’s not clear whether the device was installed on her phone or attached to her vehicle.

“He is a hot head and [a] very angry, jealous person that I feel will go to any length to potentially cause harm to me and our son,” she stated in the petition. “And [he is] stalking and tracking me [and] trying to sabotage any potential home I may try to rent for my son and I. He has 100’s of guns and a ton of ammunition in his home, office and on him at all times. I do not feel safe anywhere near him at this time.”

Less than a month later, Seaman was arrested on deliberate homicide and attempted deliberate homicide charges for allegedly gunning down the woman and her male companion.

According to charging documents, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office deputies and the Libby Volunteer Ambulance crew arrived at the Alexander Creek Campground near the Libby Dam at around 2:47 p.m. on May 21, where authorities found the deceased man, who likely died from gunshot wounds to his torso, and the injured woman, who also had multiple gunshot wounds.

First responders rendered medical aid to the injured woman and transported her to a nearby rendezvous site, where a helicopter transported her to a hospital.

At the scene, the still-conscious woman identified the suspect as Seaman, who had fled the scene, along with his vehicle. Lincoln County investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Seaman and brought him into custody the following day.

Authorities booked Seaman in the Lincoln County Detention Center on May 24 without bail following a transfer from the Flathead County Detention Center, where he was booked the day after the shooting. He remains in custody.

Seaman is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing on Oct. 17, 2022, and a jury trial date is to be determined.

If you or someone you know is the victim of domestic violence, the Abbie Shelter operates a 24-hour crisis helpline at (406) 752-7273. Additional information can be found at www.abbieshelter.org.