Woman accused of shooting ex-husband in PTC last year

April Dawn Ulrich, accused of shooting to death her ex-husband Eric Ulrich just over a year ago on the campus of NCR in Peachtree City will go on trial today on murder charges.

A jury decided Tuesday morning that Ulrich was competent enough to stand trial. During that hearing, the burden of proof was on the defense, which didn't offer testimony from either of the doctors who evaluated her mental fitness.

Ulrich testified Monday during her competency hearing that before she and Eric divorced she thought he was “my best friend.”

Ulrich testified that when she was about 20 years old she suffered a mental breakdown and received treatment at a mental hospital in West Virginia.

A forensic psychologist who has evaluated Ulrich testified that she is cognizant of her situation, the consequences she faces and the roles of all the people involved in the trial. As such, it’s his opinion that she is mentally competent to go on trial for her ex-husband’s murder.

April Ulrich is accused of shooting her ex-husband Oct. 26, 2006 on the campus of the NCR company using a handgun that was concealed in a bag.

Police said she called him on the phone and asked him to meet her in the parking lot where she ultimately shot him.

April Ulrich’s attorney George Weldon noted that at the time of the shooting, she had just gotten out of serving 10 days in jail for violating a temporary protective order for sending e-mails to Eric Ulrich’s girlfriend. He also noted that she hadn’t had her medications for several days and she also had been drinking quite a bit, all of which he said altered her state of mind at the time of the shooting.

At the time of his death, Eric Ulrich had custody of the couple’s daughter Nikki, and they lived in Peachtree City while April, who had remarried, lived in Powder Springs, according to testimony in the case.

April Ulrich said she felt betrayed by her husband days after Nikki’s birth when he had her meet his sister at Hartsfield Airport despite the need to keep Nikki out of the public to avoid her being exposed to germs due to the fragile immune system of newborn babies.

She also said that Eric Ulrich was the one who filed the court petition requesting the divorce, and that he had retained an attorney over a year in advance of filing the petition. She also said Eric Ulrich wanted to terminate her parental rights to Nikki.

April Ulrich claimed that Eric Ulrich once “kidnapped” Nikki one day when she was at yoga class.
Ulrich also testified that she had a mental breakdown when she was 20 years old when she lived in West Virginia due in part to her relationship with an uncle who was a pedophile.

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