LanceOregon
Moderator
OK, more details have emerged about this case. I hope this thread is not locked down too, as I will be glad to add more info as it develops and comes out.
It turns out that when the wife got up at 3 am and found the strange man on the couch, he was indeed past out. However, it now turns out that her husband was not home at that time. He had instead gone out for the night and was at a local bar a mile away. In fact, that was why the home's doors had been left unlocked by the wife that night, to make it easier for her husband to get back into their home when he was finished at the bar.
The wife immediately grabbed her young daughter, and fled the house. She called 911 on her cell phone as she left. She then proceeded to the bar where she knew her husband was at, and informed him of what was going on.
Despite the fact that the police had already been called and were on their way, the husband returned to his home to confront the intruder, armed with a deer rifle. Some new reports now claim that the man was conscious when the husband returned to confront him. However, police have confirmed that the intruder's dead body was found still lying on the couch.
Police arrived 7 minutes after the 911 call, but it was too late by then, as the shooting had already taken place.
So there are some key new factors to consider here. The family had gone a full mile away to the bar where the husband was at. They were completely removed from the situation at that point, and totally out of danger. But instead of waiting a couple of minutes for the police to handle things, the husband instead returned to his home to confront the man on his own.
And since the husband had been at the bar for many hours, he could very well have been highly intoxicated when this confrontation took place.
The husband has now retained a lawyer, who has advised him to not make any further statements of any kind.
Here is the new story with these updates:
http://www.nrtoday.com/article/20080620/NEWS/251560783
I doubt that this homeowner is going to become any kind of poster child for the right to defend one's home. It is looking like he definitely made some serious mistakes.
.
It turns out that when the wife got up at 3 am and found the strange man on the couch, he was indeed past out. However, it now turns out that her husband was not home at that time. He had instead gone out for the night and was at a local bar a mile away. In fact, that was why the home's doors had been left unlocked by the wife that night, to make it easier for her husband to get back into their home when he was finished at the bar.
The wife immediately grabbed her young daughter, and fled the house. She called 911 on her cell phone as she left. She then proceeded to the bar where she knew her husband was at, and informed him of what was going on.
Despite the fact that the police had already been called and were on their way, the husband returned to his home to confront the intruder, armed with a deer rifle. Some new reports now claim that the man was conscious when the husband returned to confront him. However, police have confirmed that the intruder's dead body was found still lying on the couch.
Police arrived 7 minutes after the 911 call, but it was too late by then, as the shooting had already taken place.
So there are some key new factors to consider here. The family had gone a full mile away to the bar where the husband was at. They were completely removed from the situation at that point, and totally out of danger. But instead of waiting a couple of minutes for the police to handle things, the husband instead returned to his home to confront the man on his own.
And since the husband had been at the bar for many hours, he could very well have been highly intoxicated when this confrontation took place.
The husband has now retained a lawyer, who has advised him to not make any further statements of any kind.
Here is the new story with these updates:
http://www.nrtoday.com/article/20080620/NEWS/251560783
I doubt that this homeowner is going to become any kind of poster child for the right to defend one's home. It is looking like he definitely made some serious mistakes.
.