9-1-1 Dispatcher Found Dead
By Elizabeth Zimmerman, The Decatur Daily
Original publication date: Nov. 6
Decatur, Ala. — A woman who helped thousands of people by taking domestic violence calls as a 9-1-1 dispatcher was a victim of domestic violence herself early Friday morning, according to authorities.
Decatur police found Emilie “Beth” Williams Godfrey, 34, shot at her home. Lt. Jonathan Green said her husband, Stephen Godfrey, 38, shot and killed her with a handgun, called 9-1-1 and then died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The couple’s children were home but unharmed, Green said.
Long Hours Together
Morgan 9-1-1 Director Ryan Welty said that dispatchers are “a tight-knit community.”
“We work 12-hour shifts on nights, weekends and holidays, and when you work in close quarters with somebody like that, you get to know them and love them over time,” he said.
Welty said 9-1-1 takes 3,300 domestic calls a year.
