Lynch feared for her safety, friend says
Apr 16, 2018Amber Clevenger of Garner last spoke to Lynch on Monday.“I think that she felt that the restraining order would protecther. I just talked to her Monday night. She was living with anaunt. She was waiting for the next (court) hearing in December. Shewanted full custody of her son,” Clevenger said.Lynch, 30, was found shot to death inside a Des Moines apartmentWednesday following a police standoff.Her estranged husband, Randall Todd Moore, 38, Des Moines, hasbeen charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and attemptedmurder for allegedly shooting a police officer during thestandoff.The couple’s 8-month-old son, Levi, was at a day care center atthe time of the shootings.Clevenger said she met Lynch in the first grade and thefriendship would stretch through the next 22 years of theirlives.They were in each other’s wedding parties. They each hadchildren.“She’s fun-loving. She’s a great mother. A great friend. She wasalways there if you needed her. She had a beautiful smile andpretty eyes. She was kind of the life of the party when we wereyounger,” Clevenger said.They both loved the outdoors. Lynch was an avid runner,Clevenger said.The young couples went camping and fishing together thissummer.“We hung out with them a lot in the past year. He and my husbandbecame friends. We saw signs of him starting to lose his mind butno one thought he would actually do something like this. I know shedid fear for her safety,” she said.Clevenger said Lynch left her husband after he threatened theirson.“She just kept saying, ‘I have to do what’s best for my son.’She had to keep him safe.”Clevenger said Lynch, who worked for the Iowa Department ofHuman Services, liked to share tidbits about child-rearing whichshe had picked up in work training sessions.“She’s a very strong person. She’s very forgiving,” Clevengersaid.“She’s been through a lot in her life. She was probably one ofthe most determined people I know.”Lynch was a member of Iowa Air National Guard for a decade andserved in Iraq. She was also an employee ... (Mason City Globe Gazette)
