HOUSTON (July 18, 2009)--Six months before she was killed, Evairene Flores wrote her entire family in case she died, saying, "Many will miss me, many will cry, but it was because of Matthew that I had to die."

She was married for 20 years to an abusive husband before she divorced Matthew O'Connor and obtained a protective order from a San Antonio judge.

When O'Connor continued to threaten her, a district judge ordered him to wear an electronic monitor, but that didn't stop O'Connor from kicking in the door of Flores' apartment and shooting her more than 20 times on Aug. 23, 2006.

O'Connor then shot himself.

Flores' sister says the killing might have been prevented if O'Connor's electronic monitor had been equipped with a global positioning system, which would have would allowed police to track his movements and warn Flores before he reached her apartment.

In June, Texas joined 16 states that have passed legislation requiring GPS use as a condition of probation for convicted domestic violence offenders, but some advocates and law enforcement officials worry that ambiguous language, lack of funding and overall confusion in some of the bills may only endanger victims, providing only an illusion of safety.

States That Have Passed Laws
Colorado
Florida
Hawaii
Louisiana
Illinois
Indiana
Maine
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Nebraska
New Hampshire
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Texas
Utah
Washington

States Will Bills Pending
California
Iowa
Maryland
Missouri
North Carolina
Ohio
Wisconsin

Counties That Mandate GPS Monitoring
Pitt County, N.C.
San Bernardino County, Calif.
Shelby County, Tenn.

(Sources: National Coalition Against Domestic Violence; Diane Rosenfeld, Harvard Law School; Cynthia L. Bischof Memorial Foundation; Survivors in Action; state legislatures—via Associated Press)