After three weeks in the intensive care unit at Queen of the Valley Medical Center, Talley, 50, has recovered from the gunshot wounds. Three bullets, however, still remain lodged in his upper chest and back. He must undergo more surgeries.

McWilliams, 49, a teacher at Pueblo Vista Elementary School in Napa who is on unpaid administrative leave from the school district, has filed a cross complaint against Talley.

She alleges in her complaint that Talley was physically, emotionally and sexually abusive toward her during their relationship. The lawsuit also claims that on several occasions Talley threatened to harm or kill McWilliams and her family.

Talley told the Register that although his and McWilliams’ five-month relationship was stormy, he never physically or sexually abused her or made any threats to harm her or her family.

In McWilliams’ civil lawsuit, however, she claims that days before the shooting, Talley — who was facing a court date in Texas on an outstanding warrant for domestic violence involving his ex-wife — badgered her “to quit her job, take money out of the bank and leave with him because he was going to flee to avoid his pending Texas court actions.”

McWilliams said Talley physically assaulted her and forced her to engage in sexual acts against her will, according to the lawsuit. It also states Talley told her if she went to police he would kill her, her family and her friends.

Talley says these allegations are not true.

“I never laid a hand on her. I loved her and I still do,” Talley said. “I wish I could tell her that. ...

“I never told her to pack up, get money and leave with me. I wasn’t going anywhere. As a matter of fact, the day before the shooting we were looking at buying some real estate right here in Napa.”

He admitted there had been friction between them after one of McWilliams’ family members, using the Internet, found out about Talley’s criminal troubles in Texas and told McWilliams.

“Yeah I was fired up about that. I told Roxanne if (that person) was going to mess with my life, I was going to mess with her life like she had never seen before,” Talley said. “We broke up for a couple of days when Roxanne found out about the stuff on the Internet, but we talked about it and she seemed OK with it. We got back together. She was never afraid of me ... had no reason to be.”

One night, two versions

On the night of the shooting, Talley said McWilliams helped him get some personally damaging accusations about her family member who found out about his Texas criminal problems. Talley told McWilliams he was going to share it with that person’s spouse the next morning.

“She wasn’t upset about anything. I have no idea what led up to the shooting that night. We had not been drinking. There were no drugs. She was sitting on the couch. I kissed her, told her I loved her and said I was going to bed.”

Talley said the next thing he remembered was hearing a gunshot.

“I was asleep. I didn’t realize at first I was the one being shot. I never felt any pain. I saw Roxanne standing at the end of the bed. The lights were off, but I could see her silhouette and could see she had something in her hand,” he said. “I jumped up out of bed. Roxanne took off running to the front door with the gun still in her hand.”

Talley said he managed to crawl to the bathroom.

“That’s when I realized I had been shot. I had trouble breathing. Roxanne must have seen me on the floor. She walked back to the bathroom, fired the gun three more times, hitting me twice more. She fired again, but the gun was empty. She couldn’t have been more than 2-3 feet away from me.”

McWilliams then fled the house, ran to a nearby school and hid the gun under a lawnmower, according to police reports. She later returned to the house while police were still there, admitted to shooting Talley and was taken into custody.

After McWilliams fled the house, Talley said he lay on the bathroom floor and prayed.

“I thought I was going to die. Then, I said to myself, ‘you are going to have to get up and get help or you’re going to bleed to death.’ I was able to get to the phone and call 911.”

In the cross complaint, McWilliams recounts a different chain of events the night of the shooting.

McWilliams said earlier that day Talley kept hassling her to leave the area with him. When she refused, he became violent, telling her he was going to harm her, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit states that later that evening, he went to sleep, but held onto her pajamas while they were both in bed, “holding her hostage in the bed.” She eventually was able to get away from him while he slept.

Charges and counter charges

Talley told the Register he was only charged for one offense of domestic violence while he lived in Texas. He said he left the state and the court issued a warrant for his arrest when he bailed out of jail.

Court records from Wood County, Texas — where Talley was arrested earlier this year — show he was arraigned on Aug. 17, for third-degree bodily injury family violence. He was to appear in court on Sept. 14, on the felony charge, but did not show up because of the Napa shooting. A warrant was issued for his arrest, according to a Wood County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.

An Internet search of sheriff’s records for Wood County, Texas, revealed Talley was also held in the Wood County jail on Oct. 4, 2005, and April 8, 2001, for domestic violence in separate cases.

The outstanding Texas arrest warrant caught up with Talley on Wednesday morning. He was arrested by Napa police and booked into the county jail, where he was being held without bail.

Talley appeared in court Thursday, but his arraignment was continued until 1:30 p.m. today.

There will be an identity hearing, to determine if Talley is the actual person identified in the warrant. If the judge rules it is him, Texas law enforcement will be notified and the extradition process begins. Talley also has the option of waiving extradition and surrendering to Texas authorities.

In the civil suit, Talley is seeking reimbursement for very high medical costs, according to his attorney, Elisabeth Frater.

“He is still facing further surgeries. We are also asking for loss of income. At this time he is unable to resume his line of work because of his injuries,” Frater said.

Talley works in construction.

Napa attorney Mark Pollock, representing McWilliams in the civil suit, said she is also seeking general damages, loss of income, medical expenses and attorney fees.

McWilliams is charged with a criminal complaint of felony willful and premeditated attempted murder and a special allegation of the intentional discharge of a firearm. If found guilty of the charges, she faces 32 years to life in state prison.

At McWilliams’ preliminary hearing, set for Monday, a judge will determine if there is enough evidence to hold her on the criminal charges. She is being held without bail at the county jail.

Although McWilliams’ attorney in the criminal case, Merv Lernhart, declined to comment about the specifics of the charges against his client, he said, “I hope people withhold judgment until they hear the testimony in court. After that is heard, I believe Roxanne will be exonerated.”

The district attorney’s office declined to comment on the criminal case.