5 things to know about the case against Cara Ryan

Cara Ryan and her ex-husband John "J.J." Rush were in an on-and-off relationship ever since their divorce in 2006. The Clearwater High School teacher and her ex-husband, a retired St. Petersburg officer, finally broke things off in February 2015. However, just a month later, their s*xual rendevous took a tragic turn when Cara fatally shot J.J. in an act of self-defense. She claimed that he had r*ped and threatened to kill her.

Ryan was charged with second-degree murder in the killing, which was allegedly triggered by a text message she got from someone she was dating at the time. Her ex-husband allegedly saw the message and attacked her. However, in a trial in January 2017, Cara was found not guilty of the second-degree charge. She walked free after the defense portrayed her ex-husband as an out-of-control violent man.

An upcoming episode of Oxygen's Dateline: Secrets Uncovered is slated to revisit Cara Ryan's case on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, at 7 pm ET. The synopsis for the episode, titled A Shot in the Dark reads:

"What happened in Cara Ryan's bedroom is a mystery; she admits she shot her ex-husband, but investigators need to know if it was murder or self-defense; detectives hear several versions of the story, but for a jury, there is only one truth."

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Cara Ryan defense portrayed her husband as a gambling addict

1) Ryan and her ex-husband were in an on-again-off-again relationship long after their divorce

Cara Ryan, a teacher at Clearwater High School, and J.J. Rush, who once worked as an investigator in the Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner's Office, divorced in 2006. They separated after a nine-year marriage. However, the former couple reconnected in 2007, starting an on-again-off-again relationship until February 2015, when they broke up once again.

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2) Cara Ryan invited Rush over for s*x on the day of his death

About a month after their most recent break-up in February, Ryan sent an explicit text to J.J. Rush. She invited him over to her Indian Rocks Beach apartment to have s*x on March 7, 2015, and reportedly accepted the invitation.

Ryan later informed authorities that she was studying for her master's degree and drinking before his arrival. Once Rush arrived, the two started fooling around.

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3) J.J. Rush allegedly got jealous over a text Ryan received that night

When Rush noticed a text from another man on Ryan's phone that same night, the situation between the estranged couple became tense and hostile. The text was from a person whom the high school teacher was dating at the time.

Rush then allegedly began behaving erratically, holding her down and threatening her life before allegedly r*ping her. Rush's threats included him saying,

"I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill him. I'm going to bust you open so no man can want you again."

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4) Cara Ryan claimed she closed her eyes and fired the gun at her ex-husband

As per Ryan's version of the incident, her ex-husband left her apartment before storming back into her place. She then claimed to have closed her eyes and fired a gun at him.

She used a .38-caliber pistol that Rush had given her a few years ago. She justified the shooting incident as an act of self-defense against the out-of-control man.

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5) She was found not guilty in her ex-husband's shooting death

Cara Ryan was charged with second-degree murder in connection with her former husband's shooting death. Her case went to trial in January 2017. She was found not guilty of the charge.

Ryan's defense portrayed J.J. Rush as a gambling addict who often lost control of himself and also had withdrawal syndrome from oxycodone. Ryan also said that she had "never seen him this out of control."

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Dateline: Secrets Uncovered on Oxygen to feature Cara Ryan's case in an episode on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, at 7 pm ET.