The Gloucester County woman authorities say was shot to death in a murder-suicide this week by her ex-boyfriend, who is a retired Atlantic City police officer, is being recalled by her family as a devoted mom and a vibrant personality who repeatedly tried to get the man to leave her alone.
Police were called to the Deptford Township home of Erin A. Gatier, 47, shortly before 7 p.m. Monday and found her body, along with the body of retired police officer William W. Beattie, 47, of Buena.
“He just would never go away,” Gatier’s sister, Ashley Demmy told NJ Advance Media. “Constantly just coming back and trying to get back in and banging on the door. He just would not leave her alone. It’s just terrible that he took her from us like this.”
Beattie forced his way into Gatier’s home, shot her and then turned the gun on himself, according to the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office.
Demmy said her sister had restraining orders against him in the past.
No restraining order was in place at the time of the shooting, a law enforcement official confirmed, but Gatier had previously obtained a temporary restraining order against Beattie.
Beattie retired from the Atlantic City Police Department on an accident disability in 2010, state pension records indicate.
Two years later, a federal jury cleared Beattie and three other police officers of excessive force claims after a Toms River man sued, alleging his civil rights were violated during a 2006 arrest, according to a story by The Press of Atlantic City.
Demmy recalled her sister as devoted mother to her two children and someone who was full of life.
“She was all about her kids, a great mom,” Demmy said, adding that her sister was also a lover of fashionable clothes. “She loved her designer stuff. They even named their dog Lulu for Louis Vuitton.”
Gatier worked at Compassus, a company that provides home health, palliative and hospice care. She had served as New Jersey area market executive with the company since December 2020, according to her Facebook account.
The family is still coming to terms with her death, Demmy said.
She leaves behind two sisters. Their father is 83 years old and has a heart condition, Demmy said.
“He’s hanging in right now better than expected, but it’s very hard,” Demmy said.
In addition to family, Gatier loved time with her friends and they had just celebrated her 47th birthday, which was Nov. 16, in Nashville, Demmy said.
“They were looking forward to going to New York this weekend,” Demmy said. “She just always had fun and exciting things going on.”
That’s the sister Demmy wants to remember.
“I just don’t want the way that she was taken from us to be the last thing we remember about her,” she said. “She was always very active and just full of life, so vibrant.”
The case remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Brandon Cohen of the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office, at 856-384-5524, or Deptford Township Police Detective Robert Jones at 856-845-6300.
Gatier’s friends have created a GoFundMe to help the family with funeral expenses.
Editor’s Note: Reach the New Jersey Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-572-SAFE (7233). Reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), chat with their advocates here or text LOVEIS to 22522.
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Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.
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