LAS VEGAS - Mary Beth Franta was always smiling, whether it was in her faculty picture taken at Molasky Junior High School or when expressing her love for the precious things in life.
When the camera wasn't around, police believe she endured ugly moments as the victim in an abusive marriage.
Claudia D. Schwarz is a marriage and family therapist. "It is sad," she said. "It's shocking that it can happen right here in our valley. She was a teacher. You would assume that she would have friends or people close to her that might recognize such a thing was going on, but it just shows you how isolated people are in the abuse."
Metro believes Mary Beth returned home Saturday from a wedding and got into a fight with her drunken husband Mark Franta. Police say Mark Franta brutally beat his wife in the head and killed her. Police say she died of asphyxiation. Her body was found in a desert lot behind an Albertson's supermarket near Craig and Tenaya.
Detectives say store surveillance video shows a man resembling Franta leaving in Mary Beth's SUV. He did not deny or confirm he was there, but he did tell police his drinking caused problems in his life and his marriage.
"Any kind of substance abuse, the two make a terrible combination," Schwarz said.
Metro homicide Lt. Lew Roberts says Mary Beth's love of horseback riding may have been a way to explain injuries caused by abuse. "Some of the signs and symptoms were explained away by (the fact) she was an avid lover of horses, riding horses things like that," Lt. Roberts said.
"That's sometimes a way for them to isolate," Schwarz added. "They don't want to tell anyone. They don't want anyone to know what's going on, so they'll use whatever excuse they can to rationalize why the abuse is occurring."
Police hope this tragedy will cause more victims to report abuse and to stop the cycle before it turns deadly.
Mary Beth Franta's viewing begins Friday at noon. Mark Franta is scheduled to appear in court Friday morning at 7:30.
Mary Beth Franta
Mark Franta
