BATON ROUGE - 22-year-old mother Kayelyn Ford did everything she legally could to protect herself from her ex-boyfriend.

On Monday, deputies say, he shot and killed her.

"We could have helped, and I wish we would have had the opportunity to," director of Iris Domestic Violence Center Patti Freeman said. Freeman also used to work as a detective for the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office.

Ford was granted a restraining order against Brandon Bell for attacking her in April just three days before she died.

Freeman says that time period can be the most dangerous for a domestic violence victim.

"That time frame in which you have filed the protective order and the defendant is served with it, generally we see escalated behavior, escalation in violence during those times."

Despite that active protective order, Ford found herself calling 911 yet again when Bell tried to get into her apartment early Monday morning.

Deputies came out and searched the apartment as well as the parking lot.

According to them, Ford said she would go stay with a friend, then they left. Deputies were with the victim the entire time before she said she forgot something upstairs and the deputy got in his car.

In that timeframe, Bell, who had been hiding in the woods behind her apartment, ambushed her while she was leaving, shooting her dead. He also shot himself.

"Sometimes there are cases where the defendant just ignores the protective order and does what he or she wants to do," Defense attorney Ron Haley said.

Haley has dealt with that same attitude with his own client, Christian King, who was convicted of setting his ex's home on fire despite an active protective order.

Freeman says protective orders rarely stop defendants who have intentions to cause harm.

"A protective order gives law enforcement means to take immediate action with probable cause, so if they simply see a phone call that is clearly that of the offender's, they can immediately--and must by law--arrest that offender. It gives them the means to make and take immediate action. Does a piece of paper provide a bulletproof vest or a barrier between the victim and abuser? Absolutely not, but it does have its purpose," Freeman said.

Freeman says Iris and other shelters have tons of resources for people trying to get away from their abusive relationships, including temporary housing and financial resources.

Iris is available 24/7 at (225) 389-3001.

You can find more information here.