Alene Knight wanted protection from her ex-husband after he allegedly assaulted her and their 14-year-old daughter on Christmas Eve, then showed up on the back porch of her Northwest Side home Christmas night.

She called police each time, but he left before they arrived.

The day after Christmas, she got a restraining order against her ex from Pima County Consolidated Justice Court.

Alene Knight was found dead in front of her home early Thursday, hanging half out of her SUV, the engine still running.

Less than 12 hours later, Shad Knight, 39, was arrested and booked into the Pima County Jail, suspected of the first-degree murder of Alene, his ex-wife. Sheriff's deputies didn't say where they arrested Knight.

Alene, 35, a mother of three, was found by her next-door neighbor around 6:50 a.m. near her home, in the 8400 block of North Burke Drive just north of West Cortaro Farms Road and east of Camino de Oeste, said Pima County Deputy Dawn Barkman.

Knight's children, two daughters, ages 11 and 14, and a 4-year-old son, were inside the home and were unharmed, Barkman said. She said a relative is caring for the children.

"She was not shot to death," Barkman said, correcting an early report in the Citizen, adding that there was "obvious trauma," but the cause of death won't be known until after an autopsy.

Knight had sought two orders of protection against Shad Knight, one from Dec. 26 and another in April. Details on the April request were unavailable Thursday night.

Shad Knight's arrest Thursday was his second in as many months.

Court records show deputies arrested Shad on Jan. 1 at Alene's home on two counts of domestic violence assault and four counts of domestic violence disorderly conduct.

It was unclear whether the Jan. 1 arrest was connected to the Dec. 24 assault or was a new assault charge. Barkman said she was unable to retrieve arrest records Thursday night.

Court records show Knight was released on his own recognizance Jan. 2. He pleaded not guilty Jan. 26, according to court records. Records also show he had a court appearance Monday and another scheduled for March 16.

In her December request for protection, Knight wrote to the judge that police had come to her home and taken photos of her and her daughter's injuries. She wrote that police told her they had enough evidence to arrest Shad, but he had left.

The same order of protection states Shad Knight returned to the residence Christmas Day and was let inside by the children. Knight wrote that she called 911 and that he left before deputies arrived.

Alene Knight worked for a real estate firm. Her boss, Max Stanerson, said a fund has been set up in Knight's name at the Bank of America. Stanerson would not comment further about Knight or her apparently stormy relationship with her ex-husband.

Bank officials could not be reached for fund information.