A Tulsa-area woman who says she literally ran for her life from her ex-husband found herself back in the same room with him this week, facing him in a McIntosh County courtroom as he fights multiple charges tied to an alleged February 2024 abduction. The woman, Victoria Kolbash, says she fled to Missouri after the incident and later sought a protective order. The case now stretches across state lines and has put pressure on local advocates and prosecutors to explain how cross-jurisdiction domestic-violence cases are supposed to work in real time, not just on paper.
Kolbash’s account and protective steps
According to her account, Kolbash says she was forced into a vehicle and held at gunpoint by her ex-husband, then left Oklahoma and turned to the courts for protection. As reported by KRMG, she has appeared in court repeatedly across both Missouri and Oklahoma and has told listeners she wants to use her experience to push for stronger domestic-violence protections. Family members and local advocates say the case spotlights gaps they see in how protective orders are enforced and how arrests are handled when alleged abusers move or follow victims across state lines.
Charges and arrests across state lines
As detailed by Pryor Information Publication, Richard Phillips has been charged in connection with Kolbash’s alleged February 2024 kidnapping and faces cases in Missouri as well as in McIntosh and Pittsburg counties in Oklahoma. Court documents reviewed by the outlet state that Eufaula police later found Phillips armed with a .32-caliber handgun and two magazines, and that officers in Rosebud, Missouri, arrested him across the street from Kolbash’s apartment while he was carrying a sawed-off shotgun and a box of ammunition. The same reporting notes that Bixby police said there was not enough evidence to file charges in the 2018 death of Pamela Hall.
From survivor to advocate
Since the alleged abduction, Kolbash has become an outspoken advocate and says she wants lawmakers to focus on strengthening protections for survivors. “I want to help ensure laws better protect domestic violence victims,” Kolbash told KRMG. Local shelters and advocates say her case underscores the real-world obstacles survivors face when alleged abusers cross state lines or are found with firearms, even after protective orders are in place…