She 'Begged' The Courts, But No One Saved N.J. Mom Before Husband Killed Her, Friends Say

Tara O’Shea-Watson begged everybody — especially the courts — for help, to let her move out of state and get away from her abusive husband, friends said.

But they shared children. Even as Jeremiah Monell haunted her, she had to stay in her New Jersey home.

As of Tuesday, her children were safe. Tara was dead. And her estranged husband remained on the loose, the target of a nationwide search.

"Last night he killed her in FRONT of her children!:" Vicki Hanby-Candelas wrote on Facebook Monday.

And as the national search for Monell continued into late Tuesday, friends took to social media. Why? they ask. It was so preventable.

"My friend went to the courts begging for their help," Vicki Hanby-Candelas wrote on Facebook. "She tried to move out of state, away from him. She told the judge that she fears for her life and he WILL kill her!"

Read more: Suspected New Jersey Wife-Killer 'On Run'; National Manhunt Underway

Friends and family told 6ABC that O’Shea’s estranged husband slit her throat, killing her in front of their 12-year-old son.

Other friends told Action News that the family lived a life full of terror. "You don't know how many times she came to my house beat up," the victim's friend Penny Morey told the station.

She was a battered mother, they told 6abc, and she and her two children were constantly fleeing from her abusive husband.

The manhunt for Monell began on Monday at 8:05 a.m. after troopers responded to a private residence on Raymond Drive in Commercial Township on a report of a woman who was dead, police said.

O'Shea-Watson was a resident of Commercial Township, and Monell is a resident of Cedarville. Upon arrival, troopers discovered the woman, O'Shea-Watson, unconscious and unresponsive. A preliminary investigation has determined that Monell murdered his estranged wife and is now on the run, police said.

He is a white male, 5 feet, 9 inches tall, approximately 140 pounds and was last seen driving a 1994 blue Chevrolet S10 pickup with New Jersey license plate X91GJV, police said.

Monell has been charged with murder and related weapons possession, with bail set at $1 million.

A truck matching the suspect's vehicle description was found in the Cumberland County woods later Tuesday:

A friend, Jen L. Messeck, who told nj.com that O'Shea was attempting to leave New Jersey to get away from her estranged husband and take her kids with her, set up a GoFundMe.com page to raise money to bring O'Shea's family from Tennessee to New Jersey for the funeral.

Only $1,170 of the $10,000 goal had been raised as of late afternoon Tuesday.

"Tara was [taken] from her children, family and friends way too soon," according to the page. "It is believed her husband murdered her in the middle of the night. Tara's family mostly resides in Tennessee. Please help raise money to bring her family back to New Jersey and help provide Tara with a beautiful funeral."

Anyone with information is asked to contact the New Jersey State Police Port Norris Station at 856-785-0036. Anonymous tips are welcome.

Photo: GoFundMe