Shepherdsville Wife Charged with Reckless Homicide
A wife shot her husband after an argument in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. According to WDRB’s news report, the wife shot him while he was in the bathtub. In this particular case, the woman was arrested and charged with reckless homicide.
According to Kentucky law, a person is guilty of reckless homicide when he/she, with recklessness, causes the death of another person. The law classifies this as a Class D felony.
You may ask why she wasn’t charged with murder or manslaughter? In Kentucky, there are various classifications of homicide:
- Murder
- 1st-Degree Manslaughter
- 2nd-Degree Manslaughter
- Reckless Homicide
While the facts in this story are still developing, there’s a good chance that the factors necessary for a charge of murder either could not be proven or were not present during the act leading to the death of the husband.
I’m an experienced criminal defense attorney who’s handled many trials. Just based on the preliminary facts that we currently know, here are a few possibilities which may have led prosecutors to go with the charge of reckless homicide.
First, it may have been difficult to prove the defendant intended to kill her husband. This may be one of those cases in which “the gun just went off.” She may very well not have planned or attempted to actually shoot the victim.
Second, given that an argument was allegedly occurring in the home, it’s possible that tempers were flaring between the wife and her husband but again, the actual intent to kill was not present.
Third, it’s been reported that alcohol was involved. While intoxication is not a defense, after investigating the crime, the police may have decided that alcohol played a significant enough factor to mitigate the charges.
As with any criminal defense case, the evidence will be collected and analyzed. The wife’s attorney will do his/her best to present a valid defense on behalf of the client. Whether or not the defense prevails remains to be seen. As of now, the client has been arraigned and is awaiting her next court date. The judge set a bond of $500,000.
Link to news story: http://www.wdrb.com/story/38554054/police-charge-shepherdsville-woman-in-husbands-2
